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FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS
MACMILLAN AND CO., Limitep
LONDON - BOMBAY + CALCUTTA * MADRAS
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK + BOSTON + CHICAGO
DALLAS - SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltp.
TORONTO
s
IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE MOUNTAIN OF THE 1EI TREE,
FOLK-TALES
OF THE KHASIS
BY
MRS. RAFY
ILLUSTRATED
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED _ |
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON
1920
COPYRIGHT
G. FE, P.
FOREWORD
WITHOUT any apology I offer to the public this
imperfect collection of the quaint and fascinating Folk-
Tales of the Khasis, believing that the perusal of them
. cannot fail to cheer and to give pleasure to many.
Of some of the stories there are several versions
current in the country,—sometimes conflicting versions,
—but. this in no way diminishes their charm. In such
cases I have selected the version which appeared to
me the most unique and graceful, and seemed to throw
the truest light on the habits and the character of
this genial and interesting Hill race.
Several of these tales have been published by me
from time to time in The Statesman of Calcutta, by
whose courtesy I am permitted to reproduce them in
this volume, —
I shall consider the book amply rewarded if it
bears the fruit I anticipate, by rendering more cheerful
an hour or two in the life of its readers during these
busy and strenuous times.
K. U. R.
August 10, 1918.
4€1226
vil
cm ND oO kw PD |
| 2 a oe
SHOW DAP WwW YD & OS
. U THLEN .
CONTENTS
. WHAT CAUSES THE ECLIPSE
. THe LecGenp or Mount Soruetr BNENG
. How tHe PEACOCK GOT HIS BEAUTIFUL FEATHERS
. THE GODDESS WHO CAME TO LIVE WITH MANKIND
THE FORMATION OF THE EARTH .
. U Rartrone (THE Kuast ORPHEUS)
THE TIGER AND THE MONKEYS
THE LEGEND OF THE IEI TREE .
Hontine THE Stac LAPALANG
THE GoppEssEs Ka Neot anp Ka Iam
U_ BiskurRoM
. How tHe Doge CAME TO LIVE WITH MAN
. THE ORIGIN or BETEL AND TOBACCO .
THE STaG AND THE SNAIL
. THe Leap or Ka LIKal
. THE SHADOWS ON THE Moon . . . .
. U Ksurp TxNJANG
. WHAT MAKES THE LIGHTNING
THE Pro#IBITED Foop
ix
PAGE
100
FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS
TRE CooInG oF THE DOVES
. How THE CoLourR OF THE MONKEY BECAME GREY
Ka PANSHANDI, THE Lazy TORTOISE
. THE [IDIOT AND THE Hynpet BREAD .
. U RaMHAH
How THE CAT CAME TO LIVE WITH MAN
. How tHE Fox Got HIs WHITE BREAST
. How tHe TIGER Got ais STRENGTH
How THE GOAT CAME TO LIVE WITH MAN .
How THE OX CAME TO BE THE SERVANT oF MAN
. THe Lost Boox
. THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT .
PAGE
104
106
108
111
116
120
123
128
131
134
137
140
ILLUSTRATIONS
In the Neighbourhood of the Mountain of the Iei
Tree. . ; ; ; ; . . Frontisprece
Khasi Peasants .
At the Foot of Mount Shillong
At the Foot of the Mountain of the Iei Tree . .
A Khasi Waterfall in the Neighbourhood of the Mountain
of the Iei Tree .
The Haunt of Ka Kma Kharai
Sacred Grove and Monoliths.
At the Foot of the Shillong Mountains . .
A View in the reputed Region where U Ramhah the
Giant committed his Atrocities
The Leap of Ka Likai . . .
The reputed Haunt of U Ksuid Tynjang
A Khasi Industry—frying Fish in the Open Air
Xl
PAGE
3
19
44
45
60
63
69
76
86
93
141
I
WHAT MAKES THE ECLIPSE
VERY early in the history of the world a beautiful female
child, whom the parents called Ka Nam, was born to a
humble family who lived in a village on the borders of
one of the great Khasi forests. She was such a beautiful
child that her mother constantly expressed her fears
lest some stranger passing that way might kidnap her
or cast an “evil eye”’ upon her, so she desired to bring
her up in as much seclusion as their poor circumstances
would: permit. To this the father would not agree;
he told his wife not to harbour foolish notions, but to
bring up the child naturally like other people’s children,
and teach her to work and to make herself useful. So
Ka Nam was brought up like other children, and taught |
to work and to make herself useful.
One day, as she was taking her pitcher to the well, a
big tiger came out of the forest and carried her to his
lair. She was terrified almost to,death, for she knew that
the tigers were the most cruel of all beasts. The name
of this tiger was U Khla, and his purpose in carrying off
the maiden was to eat her, but when he saw how young
and small she was, and that she would not suffice for one
full meal for him, he decided to keep her in his lair until
she grew bigger.
E i B
2 7. i+: FOLK-TALES°OF THE KHASIS I
' He took great care of her and brought home to her
many delicacies which her parents had never been able
to afford, and as she never suspected the cruel designs
of the tiger, she soon grew to feel quite at home and
contented in the wild beast’s den, and she grew up to be
a maiden of unparalleled loveliness.
The tiger was only waiting his opportunity, and when
he saw that she had grown up he determined to kill her,
for he was longing to eat the beautiful damsel whom he
had fed with such care. One day, as he busied himself
about his lair, he began to mutter to himself: “‘ Now
the time has come when I can repay myself for all my
trouble in feeding this human child; to-morrow I will
invite all my fellow-tigers here and we will feast upon
the maiden.”
It happened that a little mouse was foraging near
‘the den at that time and she overheard the tiger mutter-
ing to himself. She was very sorry for the maiden, for
she knew that she was alone and friendless and entirely
at the mercy of the tiger ; so the little mouse went and
told the maiden that the tigers were going to kill her and
eat her on the following day. Ka Nam was in great
distress and wept very bitterly. She begged of the
mouse to help her to escape, and the mouse, having a
tender heart, gave her what aid was in her power.
In the first place she told the maiden to go out of the
den and to seek the cave of the magician, U Hynroh,
the Giant Toad, to whom the realm was under tribute.
He was a peevish and exacting monster from whom
every one recoiled, and Ka Nam would have been terrified
to approach him under ordinary conditions, but the
peril which faced her gave her courage, and under the
guidance of the mouse she went to the toad’s cave.
WHAT MAKES THE ECLIPSE
KAASI PEASANTS.
4 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS :
When he saw her and beheld how fair she was, and
learned how she had been the captive of his old rival the
tiger, he readily consented to give her his protection ;
so he clothed her in a toadskin, warning her not to divest
” herself of it in the presence of others on pain of death.
This he did in order to keep the maiden in his own
custody and to make her his slave.
When the mouse saw that her beautiful friend had
been transformed into the likeness of a hideous toad she
was very sorrowful, and regretted having sent her to
seek the protection of U Hynroh, for she knew that as
long as she remained in the jungle Ka Nam would be
henceforth forced to live with the toads and to be their
slave. So she led her away secretly and brought her to
the magic tree which was in that jungle, and told the
maiden to climb into the tree that she might be trans-
ported to the sky, where she would be safe from harm for
ever. So the maid climbed into the magic tree and
spoke the magic words taught her by the mouse: “ Grow
tall, dear tree, the sky is near, expand and grow.”” Upon
which the tree began to expand upwards till its branches
touched the sky, and then the maiden alighted in the
Blue Realm and the tree immediately dwindled to its
former size.
By and by the tiger and his friends arrived at the
den, ravenous for their feast, and when he found that
his prey had disappeared his disappointment and anger
knew no bounds and were terrible to witness. He
uttered loud threats for vengeance on whoever had
connived at the escape of his captive, and his roars were
so loud that the animals in the jungle trembled with
fear. His fellow-tigers also became enraged when they
understood that they had been deprived of their feast,
I WHAT MAKES THE ECLIPSE 5
and they turned on U Khla and in their fury tore him
to death. : |
Meanwhile Ka Nam wandered homeless in the Blue
Realm, clothed in the toadskin. Every one there lived
in palaces and splendour, and they refused to admit the
loathsome, venomous-looking toad within their portals,
while she, mindful of the warning of U Hynroh, the
magician, feared touncover herself. Atlastshe appeared
before the palace of Ka Sngi, the Sun, who, ever gracious
and tender, took pity on her and permitted her to live
in a small outhouse near the palace.
One day, thinking herself to be unobserved, the maid
put aside her covering of toadskin and sat to rest awhile
in her small room, but before going abroad she carefully
wrapped herself in the skin as before. She was accident-
ally seen by the son of Ka Sngi, who was a very noble
youth. He was astonished beyond words to find a
maiden of such rare beauty hiding herself beneath a
hideous toadskin and living in his mother’s outhouse,
and he marvelled what evil spell had caused her to assume
such a loathsome covering. Her beauty enthralled him
and he fell deeply in love with her.
He hastened to make his strange discovery known to
his mother, and entreated her to lodge the maiden with-
out delay in the palace and to let her become his wife.
Ka Sngi, having the experience and foresight of age,
determined to wait before acceding to the request of
her young and impetuous son until she herself had
ascertained whether a maid such as her son described
really existed beneath the toadskin, or he had been
deluded by some evil enchantment into imagining that
he had seen a maiden in the outhouse.
So Ka Sngi set herself to watch the movements of
6 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS I
the toad in the outhouse, and one day, to her surprise
and satisfaction, she beheld the maiden uncovered, and
was astonished at her marvellous beauty and pleasing
appearance. But she did not want her son to rush into
an alliance with an enchanted maiden, so she gave him
a command that he should not go near or speak to the
maid until the toadskin had been destroyed and the evil
spell upon her broken. Once again Ka Sngi set herself
to watch the movements of the toad, and one day her
vigilance was rewarded by discovering Ka Nam asleep |
with the toadskin cast aside. Ka Sngi crept stealthily
and seized the toadskin and burned it to ashes. Hence-
forth the maiden appeared in her own natural form, and
lived very happily as the wife of Ka Sngi’s son, released —
for ever from the spell of the Giant Toad.
There was an old feud between U Hynroh and Ka
Sngi because she refused to pay him tribute, and when
he learned that she had wilfully destroyed the magic skin
in which he had wrapped the maiden, his anger was
kindled against Ka Sngi, and he climbed up to the Blue
Realm to devour her. She bravely withstood him, and
@ fierce struggle ensued which was witnessed by the
whole universe.
When mankind saw the conflict they became silent,
subdued with apprehension lest the cruel monster should
conquer their benefactress. They uttered loud cries
and began to beat mournfully on their drums till the
world was full of sound and clamour.
Like all bullies, U Hynroh was a real coward at heart,
and when he heard the noise of drums and shouting on
the earth, his heart melted within him with fear, for he
thought it was the tramp of an advancing army coming
to give him battle. He quickly released his hold upon
I WHAT MAKES THE ECLIPSE 7.
Ka Sngi and retreated with all speed from the Blue
Realm. Thus mankind were the unconscious deliverers
of their noble benefactress from the hand of her cruel
oppressor.
U Hynroh continues to make periodical attacks on
the sun to this day, and in many countries people call
the attacks “‘ Eclipses,’’ but the Ancient Khasis, who saw
the great conflict, knew it to be the Giant Toad, the great
cannibal, trying to devour Ka Sngi. He endeavours to
launch his attacks when the death of some great
personage in the world is impending, hoping to catch
mankind too preoccupied to come to the rescue.
Throughout the whole of Khasi-land to this day it is
the custom to beat drums and to raise a loud din when-
ever there is an eclipse. -
II
THE LEGEND OF MOUNT SOPHET BNENG
SoPHET BNENG is a bare dome-like hill, about thirteen
miles to the north of Shillong, and not far from the
Shillong-Gauhati highroad to the East, from which it is
plainly visible. Its name signifies the centre of heaven.
From the time of the creation of the world a tall tree, —
reaching to the sky, grew on the top of this hill, and
was used by the heavenly beings as a ladder to ascend ©
and descend between heaven and earth. At that time
the earth was uninhabited, but all manner of trees and
flowers grew in abundance, so that it was a very beautiful
and desirable place, and they of heaven frequently
came down to roam and to take their pleasure upon it.
When they found that the land in the neighbourhood
of Sophet Bneng was fertile and goodly, they began to
cultivate it for profit, but they never stayed overnight
on the earth; they ascended to heaven, according to
the decree. Altogether sixteen families followed the
pastime of cultivating the land upon the earth.
Among the heavenly beings there was one who greatly
coveted power, and was unwilling to remain the subject
of his Creator, and aspired to rule over his brethren.
He was constantly seeking for opportunities whereby
to realise his ambitions.
§
a LEGEND OF MOUNT SOPHET BNENG 9
One day it happened that seven families only of the
cultivators chose to descend to the earth, the other‘nine
remaining in heaven that day. When they were busy
‘at work in their fields, the ambitious one covertly left
his brethren, and, taking his axe secretly, he cut down the
tree of communication, so that the seven families could
not return to their heavenly home.
Thus it was that mankind came to live on the earth,
and it is from these seven families—called by the Khasis
“Ka Hanniew Skum” (the seven nests, or the seven
roots)—who descended from heaven on that fatal day
that all the nations of the earth have sprung.
III
HOW THE PEACOCK GOT HIS BEAUTIFUL
FEATHERS
WHEN the world was young and when all the animals
spoke the language of mankind, the peacock, U Klew,
was but an ordinary grey-feathered bird without any
pretensions to beauty. But, even in those days, he was
much given to pride and vanity, and strutted about
with all the majesty of royalty, just because his tuft was
more erect than the tuft of other birds and because his
tail was longer and was carried with more grace than the
tails of ay of his companions.
He was a very unaccommodating neighbour. His
tail was so big and unwieldy that he could not enter the
houses of the more lowly birds, so he always attended
the courts of the great, and was entertained by one or
other of the wealthy birds at times of festivals in the
jungle. This increased his high opinion of himself and
added to his self-importance. He became so haughty
and overbearing that he was cordially disliked by his
neighbours, who endeavoured to repay him by playing
many a jest at his expense.
They used to flatter him, pretending that they held
him in very high esteem, simply for the amusement of
seeing him swelling his chest and hearing him. boast.
10
mit THE PEACOCK’S FEATHERS 11
One day they pretended that a great Durbar of the birds
had been held to select an ambassador to carry the
greetings of the jungle birds to the beautiful maiden
Ka Sngi, who ruled in the Blue Realm and poured
her bright light so generously on their world, and that
U Klew had been chosen for this great honour.
The peacock was very elated and became more
swaggering than ever, and talked of his coming visit with
great boastings, saying that not only was he going as
the ambassador from the birds, but he was going in his
own interests as well, and that he would woo and win the
royal maiden for his wife and live with her in the Blue
Realm.
The birds enjoyed much secret fun at his expense,
none of them dreaming that he would be foolish enough
to make the attempt to fly so far, for he was such a
heavy-bodied bird and had never flown higher than
a tree-top.
But much to the surprise of every one, the peacock
expressed his intention of starting to the Blue Realm and
bade his friends good-bye, they laughing among them-
selves, thinking how ridiculous he was making himself,
and how angry he would be when he found how he had
been duped. Contrary to their expectations, however,
U Klew continued his flight upwards till they lost sight
of him, and they marvelled and became afraid, not
knowing to what danger their jest might drive him.
Strong on the wing, U Klew soared higher and higher,
never halting till he reached the sky and alighted at the
palace of Ka Sngi, the most beautiful of all maidens and
the most good.
Now Ka Sngi was destined to live alone in her grand
palace, and her heart often yearned for companionship.
12 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS it
When she saw that a stranger had alighted at her gates
she rejoiced greatly, and hastened to receive him with
courtesy and welcome. When she learned the errand
upon which he had come, she was still happier, for
she thought, “I shall never pine for companionship
again, for this noble bird will always live with me” ;
and she smiled upon the world and was glad.
When U Klew left the earth and entered the realm of
light and sunshine, he did not cast from him his selfish
and conceited nature, but rather his selfishness and
conceit grew more pronounced as his comforts and
luxuries increased. Seeing the eager welcome extended
to him by the beautiful maiden, he became more uplifted
and exacting than ever and demanded all sorts of services
at. her hands; he grew surly and cross unless she was
always in attendance upon him. Ka Sngi, on the other
hand, was noble and generous and delighted to render
kindnesses to others. She loved to shine upon the
world and to see it responding to her warmth and
her smiles. To her mate, U Klew, she gave unstinted
attention and waited upon him with unparalleled love
and devotion, which he received with cold indifference,
considering that all this attention was due to his own
personal greatness, rather than to the gracious and un-
selfish devotion of his consort.
In former times Ka Sngi had found one of the chief
outlets for her munificence in shedding her warm rays
upon theearth; but after the coming of U Klew her time
became so absorbed by him that she was no longer able
to leave her palace, so the earth became cold and dreary,
and the birds in the jungle became cheerless, their
feathers drooped, and their songs ceased. U Slap, the
rain, came and pelted their cosy nests without mercy,
1 THE PEACOCK’S FEATHERS 13
causing their young ones to die; U Lyoh, the mist,
brought his dark clouds and hung them over the rice
- fields so that no grain ripened; and Ka Eriong, the’
storm, shook the trees, destroying all the fruit, so that
the birds wandered about homeless and without food.
In their great misery they sought counsel of mankind,
whom they knew to be wiser than any of the animals.
By means of divinations mankind ascertained that all
these misfortunes were due to the presence of U Klew
in the Blue Realm, for his selfish disposition prevented
Ka Sngi from bestowing her light and her smiles upon
the world as in former times; and there was no hope .
for prosperity until U Klew could be lured back to
jungle-land.
In those days there lived in the jungle a cunning
woman whose name wasKaSabuit. Acting on the advice
of mankind, the birds invoked her aid to encompass the
return of the peacock from the Blue Realm. At that
time Ka Sabuit was very destitute, owing to the great
famine ; she had nothing to eat except some wild roots
and no seed to sow in her garden except one gourdful
of mustard seeds—the cheapest and most common of
all seeds—and even this she was afraid to sow lest the
hungry birds should come and devour it and leave her
without a grain.
When the birds came to seek counse! of her she was
very pleased, hoping that she could by some design force
them to promise not to rob her garden. After they had
explained to her their trouble, she undertook to bring
U Klew back to the jungle within thirteen moons on
two conditions: one, that the birds should refrain from
picking the seeds from her garden ; the other, that they ©
should torment the animals if they came to eat her crops
14 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS ur
or to trample on her land. These appeared such easy
terms that the birds readily agreed to them.
The garden of the cunning woman was in an open
part of the jungle and could be seen from many of the
hill-tops around, and in past days the sun used to shine
upon it from morning till night. Thither Ka Sabuit
wended her way after the interview with the birds,
and she began to dig the ground with great care and
patience, bestowing much more time upon it than she
had ever been known to do. Her neighbours laughed,
and playfully asked her if she expected a crop of precious
stones to grow from her mustard seed that year that
she spent so much labour upon the garden, but the
elderly dame took no heed. She worked on patiently
and kept her own counsel while the birds waited and
watched.
She shaped her mustard bed like unto the form of a
woman; this provoked the mirth of her neighbours
still more and incited many questions from them, but
Ka Sabuit took no heed. She worked patiently on and
kept her own counsel while the birds waited and watched.
By and by the seeds sprouted; and the plot of land
shaped like a woman became covered with glistening
green leaves, while the birds continued to watch and
to keep the animals at bay, and the cunning woman
watered and tended her garden, keeping her own counsel.
In time small yellow flowers appeared on all the
mustard plants, so that the plot of land shaped like a
woman looked in the distance like a beautiful maiden
wearing a mantle of gold that dazzled the eyes. When
the neighbours saw it they wondered at the beauty of
it and admired the skill of the cunning woman ; but
no one could understand or guess at her reason for the
m THE PEACOCK’S FEATHERS 15
strange freak and Ka Sabuit threw no light on the matter.
She still patiently worked on and kept her own counsel.
Up in the Blue Realm U Klew continued his despotic
and arrogant sway, while his gentle and noble wife
spared no pains to gratify his every wish. Like all
pampered people who are given all their desires, the
peacock became fretful and more and more difficult to
please, tiring of every diversion,.and ever seeking some
new source of indulgence, till at last nothing seemed to
satisfy him; even the splendours and magnificence of
the palace of Ka Sngi began to pall.
Now and then memories of his old home and old
associates came to disturb his mind, and he often
wondered to himself what had been the fate of his old
playmates in jungle-land. One day he wandered forth
from the precincts of the palace to view his old haunts,
and as he recognised one familiar landmark after another
his eye was suddenly arrested by the sight of (as it seemed
to him) a lovely maiden dressed all in gold lying asleep
in a garden in the middle of the forest where he himself
had once lived. At sight of her his heart melted like
water within him for the love of her. He forgot the
allegiance due to his beautiful and high-born wife, Ka
Sngi; he could only think of the maiden dressed all in
gold, lying asleep in a jungle garden, guarded by all the
birds.
After this U Klew was reluctant to remain in the
Blue Realm. His whole being yearned for the maiden he
had seen lying asleep on the earth, and one day, to his
wife’s sorrow, he communicated his determination to
return to his native land to seek the object of his new
love. Ka Sngi became a sorrowful wife, for there is no
pang so piercing to the heart of a constant woman as
16 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS Tu
the pang inflicted by being forsaken by her husband.
With all manner of inducements and persuasions and
charms she tried to prevail upon him to keep faithful to
his marriage vows, but he was heartless and obdurate ;
and, unmindful of all ties, he took his departure. As he
went away Ka Sngi followed him, weeping, and as she
wept her tears bedewed his feathers, transforming them
into all the colours of the rainbow. Some large drops
falling on his long tail as he flew away were turned
into brilliant-hued spots, which are called “ Ummat
Ka Sngi’”’ (the Sun’s tears) by the Khasis to this day.
Ka Sngi told him that they were given for a sign that
wherever he might be and on whomsoever his affections
might be bestowed, he would never be able to forget her,
Ka Sngi, the most beautiful and the most devoted of
wives.
Thus U Klew, the peacock, came back to the jungle.
The birds, when they saw his beautiful feathers, greeted
him with wonder and admiration. When he informed
them that he had come in quest of a lovely maiden
dressed all in gold, they began to laugh, and it now
became clear to them what had been the object of the
cunning woman when she shaped her mustard bed like
unto the shape of a woman. They invited U Klew to
come and be introduced to the object of his love, and
they led him forth with great ceremony to the garden of
Ka Sabuit, where he beheld, not a beautiful maiden as he
had imagined, but a bed of common mustard cunningly
shaped. His shame and humiliation were pitiful to
behold ; he tried to fly back to the Blue Realm, but he
was no longer able to take a long flight ; so, uttering the
most sad and plaintive cries, he had to resign himself to
the life of the jungle for ever. .
m THE PEACOCK’S FEATHERS 17
Every morning, it is said, the peacock can be seen
stretching forth his neck towards the sky and flapping
his wings to greet the coming of Ka Sngi; and the only
happiness left to him is to spread his lovely feathers to
catch the beams which she once more sheds upon the
earth.
IV
THE, GODDESS WHO CAME TO LIVE
WITH MANKIND
(A LEGEND oF THE SHILLONG PEAK)
SHILLONG PEK is the highest mountain in the Khasi
Hills, and although it bears such a prosaic name in our
days, the mountain was a place of renown in the days
of the Ancient Khasis, full of romance and mystery,
sacred to the spirits and to the gods. In those days
the mountain itself, and the whole country to the north
of it, was one vast forest, where dwelt demons and
dragons, who cast evil spells and caused dire sickness
to fall upon any unfortunate person who happened to
spend a night in that wild forest.
_Iin the mountain there lived a god. At first the
Ancients had no clear revelation about this deity ; they
were vaguely aware of his existence, but there was no
decree that sacrifices should be offered to him. After
a time there arose among the Khasis a very wise man
of the name of U Shillong who was endowed with great
insight to understand the mysteries, and he discovered
that the god of the mountain was great and powerful,
and sacrifice and reverence should be offered to him,
and he taught his neighbours how to perform the rites
acceptably. The name of the deity was not revealed,
18
w THE GODDESS WITH MANKIND 19
so the people began to call him “ U ’Lei Shillong” (the
god of U Shillong) after the name of the man who
first paid him homage. Then gradually he came to
be called “the god Shillong,” and in time the moun-
tain itself was called the mountain of Shillong, and
from this is derived the name of the present town of
Shillong.
AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT SHILLONG,
Possibly the god Shillong was, and remains, one
of the best-known and most generally reverenced of
all the Khasi gods, for even on the far hill-tops of
Jaintia altars have been raised to his service and
honour. Although sacrifices are being offered to him
at distant shrines, the abode of the god is in the Shillong
mountain, more especially in the sacred: grove on the
summit of the peak itself, which is such a familiar land-
mark in the country.
Sun
20 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS Iv
Judging from tradition, this deity was regarded as
a benign and benevolent being, forbearing in his atti-
tude towards mankind, who were privileged to hunt
in his forests unhindered by dangers and sicknesses,
and the dances of mankind were acceptable in his sight.
He frequently assisted them in their misfortunes and
helped them to overcome the oppression of demons.
It was he who endowed U Suidnoh with wisdom to
fight and to conquer U Thlen, the great snake-god
and vampire from Cherrapoonjee, and it was by his
intervention that Ka Thei and her sister were delivered
from the grasp of the merciless demon, U Ksuid Tynjang.
Tradition also points out that this famous deity had
a wife and family, and three at least of his daughters
are renowned in Khasi folk-lore. One of them trans-
formed herself into the likeness of a Khasi maiden
and came to live with mankind, where she became the
ancestress of a race of chiefs. Two other daughters,
out of playfulness, transformed themselves into two
rivers, and are with us in that form to thisday. This is
the story of the goddess who came to live with mankind :
Many hundreds of years ago, near the place now
known as Pomlakrai, there was a cave called the Cave
of Marai, near to which stood a high perpendicular
rock around which the youthful cow-herds of the time
used to play. They gathered there from different
directions, and passed the time merrily, practising
archery and playing on their flutes, while keeping an
eye on their herds. The rock was too high for them
to attempt to climb it, and it was always spoken of
as ‘‘ the rock on which the foot of man never trod.”
On a certain day, when the lads came as usual to
the familiar rendezvous, they were surprised to see,
Iv THE GODDESS WITH MANKIND 21
sitting on the top of the rock, a fair young girl watching
them silently and wistfully. The children, being super-
stitious, took fright at sight of her and ran in terror to
Mylliem, their village, leaving the cattle to shift for
themselves. When they told their news, the whole
village was roused and men quickly gathered to the
public meeting-place to hold a consultation. They
decided to go and see for themselves if the appari-
tion seen by the children was a real livé child, or if
they had been deluded by some spell or enchantment.
Under the guidance of the lads, they hurried to the
place on the hill where the rock stood, and there, as
the boys had stated, sat a fair and beautiful child.
The clothes worn by the little girl were far richer
than any worn by their own women-folk, so they judged
that she belonged to some rich family, and she was
altogether so lovely that the men gazed open-mouthed
at her, dazzled by her beauty. Their sense of chivalry
soon asserted itself, however, and they began to devise
plans to rescue the maiden from her perilous position.
To climb up the face of that steep rock was an impossible
feat ; so they called to her, but she would not answer;
they made signs for her to descend, but she did not
stir, and the men felt baffled and perplexed.
Chief among the rescuers was a man called U Mylliem
Ngap, who was remarkable for his sagacity and courage.
When he saw that the child refused to be coaxed, he
attributed it to her fear to venture unaided down that
steep and slipperyrock. So he sent some of his comrades ~
to the jungle to cut down some bamboos, which he
joined together and made into a pole long enough to
reach the top of the rock. Then he beckoned to the
child to take hold of it, but she sat on unmoved.
22 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS Iv
By this time the day was beginning to wane, yet
the child did not stir and the rescuers were growing '
desperate. To leave her to her fate on that impregnable
rock would be little less than cold-blooded murder,
for nothing but death awaited her. They began to
lament loudly, as people lament when mourning for
their dead, but the child sat on in the same indifferent
attitude.
Just the U Mylliem Ngap noticed a tuft of wild
flowers growing near the cave, and he quickly gathered
a bunch and fastened it to the end of the long pole
and held it up to the maiden’s view. The moment she
saw the flowers, she gave a cry of delight and held out
her hand to take them. U Mylliem Ngap promptly
lowered the pole and the child moved towards it, but
before she could grasp the flowers the pole was again
lowered ; so, little. by little, step by step, as the men
watched with bated breath, the little maid reached
the ground in safety.
U Mylliem Ngap, with general consent, constituted
himself her champion. He called her ‘‘ Pah Syntiew,”
which means “ Lured by Flowers,” for her name and
her origin were unknown. He took her to his own
home and adopted her as his own daughter, cherishing
her with fondness and affection, which the child fully
requited.
Ka Pah Syntiew, as she grew up, fulfilled all the
promises of her childhood and developed into a woman
of incomparable beauty and her fame went abroad
throughout the country. She was also gifted and wise
beyond all the maidens of the neighbourhood, and
was the chosen leader at all the Khasi dances and
festivals. She taught the Khasi girls to dance and to
4
Iv THE GODDESS WITH MANKIND 23
sing, and it was she who instituted the Virgins’ Dance,
which remains popular to this day among the Khasis.
Her foster-father, seeing she possessed so much discretion
and wisdom, used to consult her in all his perplexities
and seek her advice in all matters pertaining to the
ruling of the village. She displayed such tact and
judgement that people from other villages brought
their disputes to her to be settled, and she was acknow-
ledged to be wiser and more just than any ruler in the
country, and they began to call her “Ka Siem” (the
Chiefess, or the Queen).
When she came of age, U Mylliem Ngap gave her
In marriage to a man of prowess and worth, who is
mentioned in Khasi lore as “‘ U Kongor Nongjri.” She
became the mother of many sons and daughters, who
were all noble and comely.
After her children had grown up, Ka Pah Syntiew
called them all to her one day and revealed to them
the secret of her birth. She was the daughter of
U ’Lei Shillong, the mountain god, permitted by her
father to dwell for a period among mankind, and at
last the time was at hand for her to return to her native
element. :
Not long after this Ka Pah Syntiew walked away
in the direction of the cave of Marai, and no one dared
to accompany her, for it was realised that her hour of
departure had come. From that day she disappeared
from mortal ken. Her descendants are known to this
day as two of the leading families of Khasi chiefs, or
_Siems, and in common parlance these two families,
those of Khairim and Mylliem, are still called “the
Siems (the Chiefs) of Shillong,” or “the Siems of the
god.”’
Vv
THE FORMATION OF THE EARTH
WueEn the earth was created, it was one great plain.
full of vast forests and smooth rivers. Then it happened
that the mother of the three goddesses, Ka Ding, Ka
Um, and Ka Sngi, died while wandering abroad one
day on the earth. These goddesses are Fire, Water,
and the Sun. It became necessary for the daughters
to discover some means whereby their mother’s body
could be put away out of their sight and not be left
exposed on the face of the earth.
According to the decree, it was decided that Ka
Sngi, being the youngest, should perform the rites of
destroying the body; so Ka Sngi went out in all her
strength, and put forth great heat till the rivers were
dried up and all the leaves of the forest and the grass
withered, but the body of the mother was not consumed.
So Ka Sngi returned to her sisters and said, “I have
exhausted all my powers, but our mother’s body still
lies on the face of the earth in our sight.”’
After this the next sister, Ka Um, undertook to
perform the rites, and she went forth with a great
company of clouds, and poured incessant rain upon
the earth till the rivers and pools were all flooded, but
her mother’s body was not destroyed. So Ka Um also
24
v THE FORMATION OF THE EARTH 25
returned to her sisters and said, ‘‘I have exhausted
all my powers, but the body of our mother still lies
on the face of the earth in our sight.”
Thus it remained for the elder sister, Ka Ding, to
undertake to do the necessary rites, and she spread forth
great flames which swept over the forests and caused
the earth to burn and to crumble till the vast plain lost
its contour and the body of the mother was consumed.
Ever since then the earth has remained as the fire
left it, full of mountains and valleys and gorges. It
became a much more beautiful place, and in time
mankind came here from heaven to dwell.
VI
THE LEGEND OF U RAITONG, THE KHASI
ORPHEUS
A FEW miles to the north of Shillong, the chief town of
the Province of Assam, there is a fertile and pleasant
hill known as the Hill of Raitong, which is one of the most
famous spots in ancient folk-lore, and for which is claimed
the distinction of being the place where the custom of
suttee—wife-sacrifice of the Hindus—originated. The
legend runs as follows:
Many ages ago there lived a great Siem (Chief) who
ruled over large territories and whose sceptre swayed
many tribes and clans of people. As befitted such a
great Siem, his consort, the Mahadei, was a woman of
great beauty: her figure was erect and lissom and all
her movements easy and graceful as the motion of the
palms in the summer breeze; her hair was long and
flowing, enfolding her like a wreathing cloud; her
teeth were even as the rims of a cowrie; her lips were
red as the precious coral and fragrant as the flower of
Lasubon ; and her face was fair like unto the face of a
goddess. Strange to relate, the names of this famous
royal couple have not been transmitted to posterity.
It came to pass that affairs of the State necessitated
the absence of the Siem from home for a protracted
26
vI THE LEGEND OF U RAITONG 27
period. He appointed deputies to govern the village
and to control his household during the interval, while
the Mahadei, who was unto him as the apple of his eye,
was placed under the joint guardianship of her own and
his own family. When he had made all satisfactory
arrangements he took his departure and went on his
long journey accompanied by the good wishes of his
people.
Among the subjects of the Siem was a poor beggar
lad, who was looked upon as being half-witted, for he
spent his days roaming about the village clothed in
filthy rags, his head and face covered with ashes like a
wandering fakir. He never conversed with any of the
villagers, but kept muttering to himself incessantly,
lamenting his own forlorn and friendless condition.
His name was U Raitong. Formerly he had been a
happy and well-cared-for lad, surrounded and loved by
many relatives and kindred, until a ternble epidemic
swept through the village and carried away all his family
and left him orphaned and alone, without sustenance and
without a relative to stand by his bedside in time of sick-
ness or to perform the funeral rites over his body when
he died. Overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, U Raitong
vowed a rash vow that all the days of his life should be
spent in mourning the death of his kindred ; thus it was
that he walked about the village lamenting to himself
and wearing ragged clothes. His neighbours, not know-
ing about the vow, thought that sorrow had turned his
head, so they treated him as an idiot and pitied him
and gave him alms.
His condition was so wretched and his clothes so
tattered that he became a proverb in the country, and
to this day, when the Khasis wish to describe one fallen
28 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vi
into extreme poverty and wretchedness, they say, ‘‘ as
poor as U Raitong.”
At night time, however, U Raitorfg considered himself
free from the obligations of his rash vow, and when he
retired to his rickety cabin on the outskirts of the village
he divested himself of his rags and arrayed himself in
fine garments, and would play for hours on his sharati
(flute), a bamboo instrument much in vogue among the
Khasis to this day. He was a born musician, and con-
stant practice had made him an accomplished player,
and never did flute give forth sweeter and richer music
than did the sharati of U Raitong as he played by
stealth in the hours of the night when all the village was
asleep. :
The melodies he composed were so enthralling that
he often became oblivious to all his surroundings and
abandoned himself to the charms of his own subtle music.
His body swayed and trembled with pure joy and delight
as he gave forth strain after strain from his sharati;
yet so cautious was he that none of his neighbours sus-
pected that he possessed any gifts, for he feared to let
it be known lest it should interfere with the performance
of his vow.
It happened one night that the Mahadei was restless
and unable to sleep, and as she lay awake she heard the
faint strains of the most sweet music wafted on the air.
She imagined that it was coming from the fairies who were
said to inhabit certain parts of the forest, and she listened
enraptured until the sounds ceased. When it stopped, a
feeling of great loneliness came over her, so overawing
that she could not summon enough courage to speak
about the strange music she had heard. She went about
her household duties with her thoughts far away and
vI THE LEGEND OF U RAITONG 29
longing for the night to come in the hope that the music
would be wafted to her again.
The following night, and for many successive nights,
the Mahadei lay awake to listen, and was always re-
warded by hearing the soft sweet strains of some musical
instrument floating on the air till she imagined the
room to be full of some beautiful beings singing the
sweetest melodies that human ears ever heard. When
it ceased, as it always did before daybreak, the feeling
of desolation was intense, till her whole mind became
absorbed with thoughts of the mysterious music.
The fascination grew until at last it became over-
powering and she could no longer resist the desire to
know whence the sounds proceeded. She crept
stealthily from her room one night, and following the
direction of the strains, she walked through the village
and was surprised to find that the music emerged from
the dilapidated hut of U Raitong.
The heart of the Mahadei was touched, for she thought
that the fairies in tenderness and pity came to cheer and
to comfort the poor idiot with their music, and she stood
there to listen. The strains which she could hear but
faintly in her own room now broke upon her in all their
fulness and richness till her whole being was ravished
by them.
Before dawn the sounds suddenly ceased, and the
Mahadei retraced her steps stealthily and crept back to
her room without being observed by any one. After
this she stole out of her house every night and went to
listen to what she believed to be fairy-music outside
the hut of U Raitong.
One night, when the power of the music was stronger
than usual, the Mahadei drew near and peeped through
30 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vI
a crevice in the door, and to her astonishment, instead
of the fairies she had pictured, she saw that it was
U Raitong, the supposed idiot, who was playing on his
sharati, but a Raitong so changed from the one she had
been accustomed to see about the village that she could
scarcely believe herowneyes. He was well and tastefully
dressed and his face was alight with joy, while his body
moved with graceful motions as he swayed with rapture
in harmony with the rhythm of his wild music. She
stood spellbound, as much moved by the sight that met
her eyes as she had been by the charm of the music, and,
forgetful of her marriage vows and her duty to her
absent husband, she fell deeply and irrevocably in love
with U Raitong.
Time passed, and the Mahadei continued to visit the
hut of U Raitong by stealth, drawn by her passionate
love for him even more than by the fascination of his
sharati. At first U Raitong was unaware that he was
being spied upon, but when he discovered the Mahadei
in his hut, he was greatly troubled, and tried to reason
with her against coming with as much sternness as was
becoming in one of his class to show to one so much
above him in rank. But she overruled all his scruples,
and before long the intensity of her love for him and
the beauty of her person awoke similar feelings in him
and he fell a victim to her wicked and unbridled passion.
The months rolled on and the time for the return of
the Siem was advancing apace. People began to dis-
cuss the preparations for celebrating his return, and
every. one evinced the most lively interest except the
Mahadei. It was noticed that she, the most interested
person of all, appeared the most unconcerned, and people
marvelled to see her so cold and indifferent; but one
vI THE LEGEND OF U RAITONG 31
day the reason became clear when it was announced
that a son had been born to the Mahadei and that her
guardians had locked her up in one of the rooms of the
court, pending the arrival of the Siem. She offered no
resistance and put forward no justification, but when
questioned as to the identity of her child’s father she
_ remained resolutely silent.
When the Siem arrived: and heard of his wife’s
infidelity he was bowed down with shame and grief,
and vowed that he would enforce the extreme penalty
of the law on the man who had sullied her honour, but
neither persuasion nor coercion could extract from the
Mahadei his name.
It was necessary for the well-being of the State, as
well as for the satisfaction of the Siem, that the culprit
should be found ; so the Siem sent a mandate through-
out his territory calling upon all the male population, on
penalty of death, to attend a great State Durbar, when
the Siem and his ministers would sit in judgement to
discover the father of the child of the faithless Mahadei.
Never in the history of Durbars was seen such a
multitude gathered together as was seen on that day
when all the men, both young and old, appeared before
the Siem to pass through the test laid down by him.
When all had assembled, the Siem ordered a mat to be
brought and placed in the centre, and the babe laid upon
it; after which he commanded every man to walk round
the mat in procession and, as he passed, to offer a plantain
to the child, inasmuch as it was believed that the in-
stincts of the babe would lead him to accept a plantain
from the hand of his own father and from no other.
The long procession filed past one by one, but the
babe gave no sign, and the Siem and his ministers were
f
”
32 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vI
baffled and perplexed. They demanded to know what
man had absented himself, but when the roll was called
the number was complete. Some one in the throng
shouted the name of U Raitong, at which many laughed,
for no one deemed him to be sane; other voices said
mockingly, “‘ Send for him ” ; others said, ‘‘ Why trouble
about such a witless creature? He is but as a dog ora
rat.’ Thus the Durbar was divided, but the ministers,
unwilling to pass over even the most hapless, decided
to send for him and to put him through the test like
the other men.
When the Siem’s messengers arrived at the hut they
found U Raitong just as usual, dressed in filthy rags and
muttering to himself, his face covered with ashes. He
arose immediately and followed the men to the place of
Durbar, and as he came people pitied him, for he looked
so sad and forlorn and defenceless that it seemed a shame
to put such an one through the test. A plantain was put
into his hand and he was told to walk past the mat. As
soon as the babe saw him he began to crow with delight
and held out his hands for the plantain, but he took no
notice of the well-dressed people who crowded round.
There was a loud commotion when the secret was
discovered, and the Siem looked ashamed and humiliated
to find that one so unseemly and poor was proved to
be the lover of his beautiful wife. The assembly were
awed at the spectacle, and many of them raised their
voices in thanksgiving to the deity whom they con-
sidered to have directed the course of events and brought
the guilty to judgement.
The Siem commanded his ministers to pronounce
judgement, and they with one accord proclaimed that
he should be burned to death, without the performance
VI THE LEGEND OF U RAITONG 33
of any rites and that no hand should gather his bones
for burial. In this decision all the throng acquiesced,
for such was the law and the decree.
U Raitong received the verdict with indifference as
one who had long known and become reconciled to his
fate, but he asked one boon, and that was permission
to build his own pyre and play a dirge for himself. The
Siem and the people were astonished to hear him speak
in clear tones instead of the blubbering manner in which
he had always been known to speak. Nobody raised
an objection to his request, so he received permission to
build his own pyre and to play his own dirge.
Accordingly on the morrow U Raitong arose early
and gathered a great pile of dry firewood and laid it
carefully till the pyre was larger than the pyres built
for the cremation of Siems and the great ones of the land.
After finishing the pyre he returned to his lonely hut
and divested himself of his filthy rags and arrayed him-
self in the fine garments which he used to wear in the
hours of the night when he abandoned himself to music ;
he then took his sharati in his hand and sallied forth to
his terrible doom. As he marched towards the pyre he
played on his sharati, and the sound of his dirge was
carried by the air to every dwelling in the village, and
so beautiful was it and so enchanting, so full of wild
pathos and woe, that it stirred every heart. People
flocked after him, wondering at the changed appearance
of U Raitong and fascinated by the marvellous and
mysterious music such as they had never before heard,
which arrested and charmed every ear.
When the procession reached the pyre, U Raitong
stooped and lighted the dry logs without a shudder or a
delay. Then once more he began to play on his sharati
: D
34 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS v1
and marched three times round the pyre, and as he
marched he played such doleful and mournful melodies
that his hearers raised their voices in a loud wail in
sympathy, so that the wailing and the mourning at the
pyre of the unfortunate U Raitong was more sincere and
impressive than the mourning made for the greatest
men in the country.
At the end of his third round U Raitong suddenly
stopped his music, planted his sharati point downward
in the earth, and leaped upon the burning pyre and
perished.
While these events were taking place outside, the
Mahadei remained a close prisoner in her room, and no
whisper of what was transpiring was allowed to reach
her. But her heart was heavy with apprehension for her
lover, and when she heard the notes of a sharati she
knew it could be none other than U Raitong, and that
the secret had been discovered and that he was being
' gent to his doom.
As before, the notes of the sharati seemed to call her
irresistibly, and with almost superhuman strength she
burst open the door of her prison. Great as was her
excitement and her desire to get away, she took pre-
cautions to cover her escape. Seeing a string of cowries
with which her child had been playing, she hastily
fastened them to the feet of a kitten that was in the room,
so that whenever the kitten moved the noise of the
cowries jingling on the floor of the room would lead
those outside to think that it was the Mahadei herself
still moving about; then she sped forth to the hill
in the direction of the sound of the sharati and the
wailing. When she arrived at the pyre, U Raitong
had just taken his fatal leap. She pushed her way
v1 THE LEGEND OF U RAITONG 35
resolutely through the dense and wailing crowd, and
before any one could anticipate her action she too
had leaped into the flaming furnace to die by the side of
her lover. -
The Siem alone of all the people in the village had
withstood the fascination of the dirge. He sat in his
chamber morose and outraged, brooding on his calamity.
Just when the Mahadei was leaping into the flames a
strange thing happened in the Siem’s chamber—the
head-cloth (tapmoh) of his wife was blown in a mysterious
manner so that it fell at his feet although there was not
enough breeze to cause a leaf to rustle. When the Siem
saw it he said, “ By this token my wife must be dead.”
Still hearing sounds coming from her room, he tried to
take no heed of the omen. The foreboding, however,
grew so strong that he got up to investigate, and when he
opened the door of the room where the Mahadei had been
imprisoned he found it empty, save for a kitten with
a string of cowries fastened to its feet.
He knew instinctively whither she had gone, and in
the hope of averting further scandal he hurried in her
wake towards the pyre on the hill, but he was too late.
When he arrived on the scene he found only her charred
remains.
The news of the unparalleled devotion of the Mahadei
to her lover spread abroad throughout the land and
stirred the minds of men and women in all countries.
The chaste wives of India, when they heard of it, said
one to another, “‘ We must not allow the unholy passion
of an unchaste woman to become more famous than
the sacred love of holy matrimony. Henceforth we will
offer our bodies on the altar of death, on the pyre of our ©
husbands, to prove our devotion and fidelity.” Thus
36 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vi
originated the custom of suttee (wife-sacrifice) in many
parts of India.
The Khasis were so impressed by the suitability of the
sharati to express sorrow and grief that they have
adopted that instrument ever since to play their dirges
at times of cremation.
The sharati of U Raitong, which he planted in the
earth as he was about to leap to his doom, took root,
and a clump of bamboos grew from it, distinguish-
able from all other bamboos by having their branches
forking downwards. It is commonly maintained to
this day that there are clumps of bamboos forking down-
wards to be found in plenty on the Hill of Raitong.
VII
THE TIGER AND THE MONKEYS
At the beginning of time the animals were free and
living wild and unruly lives, but there were so many
disputes and quarrels that they convened a council
to choose a king to reign over them. With one accord
they nominated the tiger to be king, not for any special
wisdom or merit which he possessed, but because of
his great strength, by which he would be able to subdue
the turbulent beasts.
Although he possessed greater strength than any
of his kindred, the tiger was more ignorant ef the ways
and habits of his subjects than any of the animals.
He was so self-absorbed that he never troubled himself
to study the ways of others, and this caused him to
act very foolishly at times and to make himself ridicu-
lous, for the animals were tempted to take advantage
of his great ignorance and to play tricks upon him
whenever they thought they could do so undetected. |
This tale relates how the monkeys played a cunning
trick on their king which caused mortal enmity to
spring up between him’and them for ever.
One hot day the tiger walked abroad to take an
airing, but, the sun being so hot, he turned aside to
shelter under some leafy trees and there he fell asleep.
37
38 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS | vi
Presently he awoke, and on awaking he heard coming
from overhead very melodious singing to which he
listened enraptured. It was the little insect, Shalym-
men, chirping on a leaf, but she was so small the tiger
could not see her, and, being so ignorant, he had no idea
- whose voice it was. He peered to the branches right
and left trying to discover the singer, but he only saw
a company of monkeys at play in the trees, so he
began to question them who it was that was singing
above him.
Now the monkeys and all the jungle animals were
perfectly familiar with the singing of Shalymmen and
recognised the voice from afar. They thought it very
contemptible in the king to be more ignorant than
themselves, and one audacious young monkey, in a spirit
of mischief, answered that the singer was their youngest
sister.
The other monkeys were perturbed when they heard
their brother giving such an impudent answer, thinking
that the tiger would be offended and would punish
them with his great strength. They were preparing
to run away when, to their amazement, they heard
the tiger replying to their rash young brother in a
gentle voice and with most affable manners and saying
to him, “‘ You are my brother-in-law. Your sister has
the most beautiful voice in the jungle ; I will make her
my wife.” |
If the predicament of the monkeys was bad at the
beginning, it was doubly so now, for they felt that,
things having taken such an unexpected turn, it would
‘be impossible to conceal from the knowledge of the
tiger their brother’s offence. They determined, how-
ever, not to desert the young culprit, and if possible
vir THE TIGER AND THE MONKEYS 39
to try and rescue him, so they approached the tiger,
and with much seeming courtesy and honour they put
forward the excuse that their sister was very young
and not yet of marriageable age. This excuse made
no impression on the king, for he said :
‘So much the better. As she is young, I can mould
her to my own ways, and bring her up according to
my own views, which would not be so easy if she were
fully matured.”’
To which the monkeys replied, “ Our sister is not
-amenable to instruction. She is indolent and fond of
her own will.” |
The tiger, however, was so lovesick that no argument
had weight with him. He thought the brothers were
severe in their judgement, and expressed his conviction
that she could not be as slothful as they said, for she
was forgoing her midday repose for the sake of making
music to cheer the animals. He ordered them to
come down from the trees and to lead their sister to
him.
After this the monkeys feared to argue further, so
they pretended to agree to his commands; but they
craved a boon from him, and asked for a little time to
make preparations, as it would not be becoming for
one of such a high degree to join himself with a poor
family like theirs without their showing him adequate
honour such as was due to his rank. This request the
tiger granted, and it was arranged between them that
the was to come and claim his bride at the time of the
full moon, a week from that day, and so the tiger
departed with evident goodwill.
As soon as they found themselves alone the monkeys
began to think out some plans by which they could
40 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vil
meet the situation and escape exposure. They decided
to call together a council of the whole tribe of monkeys,
for they well foresaw that the whole tribe would be in
peril if the tiger found out what they had done.
So the monkeys came to hold a council, and in that
council it was decided that they. must continue to keep
up the duplicity begun, and in order to hoodwink the
tiger still further they planned to make a clay image
after the fashion of a woman and to present her to
the tiger as his bride. So they made preparations
for a great feast, but they did not invite anybody
except their own tribe to attend.
During the succeeding days the monkeys busied
themselves collecting clay and moulding it into an
image, which they propped against a tree. They were
unable to make the head of one piece with the body,
so they moulded the head separately, and when it was
finished they placed it loosely on the body of the image.
They then proceeded to dress the image in all the finery
they could procure, and they carefully covered the head
and face with a veil so as to hide it from the eyes of the
bridegroom.
The night of the full moon arrived, and all the monkey
family were assembled at the appointed place, where
with much clatter and seeming joy they awaited the
arrival of the tiger, though they were really very
anxious about the consequences. Everything was in
readiness, and the place laid out with many kinds of
food, so as to lead the tiger to think that they were
sincere in their welcome.
He came early, very gorgeously arrayed, and carry-
ing over his shoulder a net full of betel nut and pan
leaves, and was received with loud acclamation by his
vit THE TIGER AND THE MONKEYS 41
prospective relatives. But the tiger hardly deigned to
give them a greeting, so impatient was he to meet his
bride, and he demanded to be taken to her immediately.
The monkeys led him with great ceremony to the clay
image, but their hearts were beating fast with fear lest
he should discover their fraud.
When they reached the image they said, ‘‘ This is
our sister. Take her and may she be worthy of the
great honour you have conferred upon her.”’ Thereupon
they retired to a safe distance.
When the tiger saw how finely dressed she was and
how modestly she had veiled herself, he felt a little.
timid, for she was so much finer than the little grey
monkey he had been picturing to himself. He came
up to her and said deferentially, as he slung the net
of betel nut round her neck :
“You are the chief person at this feast, take the
pan and the betel nut and divide them among the
company according to custom.”’
The bride, however, remained motionless and mute, .
seeing which, the tiger asked the monkeys in a dis-
pleased voice, ‘‘ Why doth not your sister answer me
nor obey my commands ? ”’
“She is very young,” they replied, ‘‘ perhaps she
has fallen asleep while waiting for you; pull the string
of the net and she will awaken.”
Upon this the tiger gave the string a sharp tug,
and the loose head of the image rolled on to the floor,
whereupon the monkeys, uttering the most piercing
shrieks, pounced upon the tiger in a mob, declaring
that he had killed their sister, and that he had only
made a pretence of marrying her in order to get hold
of her to kill her. A fierce and bloody fight ensued
42 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vil
in which the tiger was nearly killed, and ever since then
the tiger has feared the monkeys, and they are the only
animals in the jungle that dare challenge him to fight.
He never discovered their duplicity, but he learned
one very effective lesson, for he has never committed
the indiscretion of proposing marriage with an unknown
bride since that unfortunate affair with the monkeys ;
while the monkeys are rejoicing in the cunning by
which they saved their brother and their tribe from
punishment.
VIII
THE LEGEND OF THE IJIEI TREE
Some eight or ten miles to the west of the town of
Shillong is seen a prominent hill range, a place much
renowned in Khasi folk-lore. It is known as the
Mountain of the Iei Tree, and is a very romantic spot
even in the present day, although divested of its former
reputed glory. Its slopes are studded with thriving
villages and cultivated fields, which appear from a
distance like a bit of British landscape. At its foot
the river Umiam (the wailing river) curves its dolorous
way to the plains, at times leaping wildly over rugged
precipices, scattering its spray in the sunshine, at other
times lying almost motionless in the bosom of a valley,
reflecting the beauty of myriad trees in its clear
depths.
According to tradition, this hill, and the land around
it, was the most fertile land in the world; broad acres
lay under cultivation’and its forests yielded the largest
and most valuable timber. It was also famous for the
grandeur of its scenery; fairies and nymphs were said
to have their haunts in its green glades, birds of lovely
hues lived there and made their nests amid flowers of
sweetest scent; there happy maidens loved to roam,
and there young lovers met and plighted their troth.
43
44 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vir
Such was the Mountain of the Iei Tree in the days of
the Ancients.
On the summit of the mountain there grew a tree
of fabulous dimensions—the Iei Tree—which dwarfed
even the largest trees in forests. It was of a species
unique, such as mankind had never known; its thick
outepreading branches were so clustered with leaves that
AY THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN OF THE IRI TREE.
the light of the sun could not penetrate through and the
earth beneath its shadow became-barren and unfruitful.
The fame of the tree spread abroad and people
from many lands came to see it, but there were none
who dared to cut a twig or to scratch its bark, as
it was commonly believed that the tree was the abode
of some unknown and powerful god, to offend whom
would bring destruction.
var THE LEGEND OF THE IEI TREE 45
The Iei Tree continued to grow through many ages,
and year by year its malevolent shadow spread further
A KHASI WATERFALL IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE
MOUNTAIN OF THE IRI TREE.
and further, and the area of the barren land increased
season by season until at last it became a serious
menace to the world, and the very existence of mankind
46 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vil
was at stake. People could no longer live on the
slopes of the mountain, cultivation became impossible
for many miles around, and the one-time prosperous
families had to wander abroad as homeless fugitives,
fleeing from the ever-pursuing, ever-threatening shadow.
The pathways and pleasant nooks whence of old had
echoed the merry voices and laughter of children were
now become the lurking-places of dragons and the
prowling-grounds of savage beasts whither no man
ventured to roam.
A Durbar of all mankind was summoned to consider
the situation and to devise some plan to save the world
from its impending doom. After long and solemn
deliberations, it was resolved to mobilise a party of
the bravest and most skilled wood-cutters to go into
the mountain to hew down the Iei Tree so as to
admit the sunlight once more to the earth. In the
course of time the wood-cutters came and entered the
mountain, defying all danger and risking the possible
wrath of the unknown god whom they believed to haunt
the tree.
When they reached the Iei Tree, they plied their
axes with skill and toiled vigorously till night came on,
but the wood was so hard and so tough they only
succeeded in cutting a little below the bark that day.
They consoled themselves, however, by reflecting that
so far there had appeared no signs of anger from the
unknown god forasmuch as no misfortunes had be-
fallen them; so they retired to rest, sanguine that
by perseverance their gigantic task would in time be
accomplished.
Next morning they returned early to their work,
but, to their consternation, they saw that the incisions
ee ee |
VIII THE LEGEND OF THE IEI TREE 47
made by them the day before at the cost of so much
labour were obliterated, leaving the trunk of the tree
as solid and unscathed as before. Many of the wood-
cutters were so superstitious that they feared to ap-
proach the tree again, for they were now confirmed in
their fear that the place was enchanted; but when
their more stoical comrades reminded them of the great
peril in which mankind stood, they plucked up courage,
and for another day they toiled laboriously, only to
find their work obliterated next morning.
As no personal harm had befallen any of them, the
wood-cutters determined to continue their attack, but
no matter how patiently they worked during the day,
the tree would be healed up in the night. They grew
more and more mystified and discouraged, and the
strain of living in that weird region was becoming
intolerable. At last they decided to return to their
fellow-men, preferring to endure the foreseen doom of
the shadowed world rather than face the unknown and
mysterious terrors of the land of the Iei Tree.
As they sat, gloomy and disconsolate, brooding on
their defeat, a little grey bird—Ka Phreit, the Khasi
wren—came, chirruping and twittering, close to the
wood-cutters, and she began to talk to them, urging
them to keep up their courage, as she had come to
help them. Now, in spite of their spiritless condition,
the woodsmen could not help laughing to hear Ka
Phreit—the smallest of all the birds—so impudently
offering to help them—the picked wood-cutters of the
world—to cut down a tree. But when the wren saw
them laughing, she chirruped and twittered still louder,
and drew still nearer, and with great excitement she
said, ‘‘ No doubt you are great and wise, for you have
48 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS vit
been chosen for a great task. You are unable to per-
form it, yet when I come to offer assistance, you laugh
at me. It is true that I am the smallest of all the birds,
but that has not hindered me from learning the secrets
of this forest, which you must also learn before you
can cut down the Iei Tree.”
On hearing the sage words of the wren, the woodmen
felt ashamed for having laughed at her, seeing that she
meant nothing but goodwill towards. them; so they.
got up and saluted her, and begged her pardon, and
asked her to teach them the secret of the forest. Thus
mollified, Ka Phreit informed them that the tree was
not healed by any supernatural agency as they had
supposed, but that it was U Khla, the big tiger, who
came every night to lick the tree and to heal it, for he
did not want it to be cut down, as its shadow made it
possible for him to prowl for prey in safety.
This news cheered the wood-cutters’ hearts and they
lost no time in beginning another attack on the Iei
Tree, and when night fell, instead of carrying their
axes home as before, they planted them in the tree
edge outward.
When the tiger came to lick the tree that night
(all unconscious that the wren had disclosed the secret
to the men), the sharp blades cut his tongue, and he
fled in terror, bleeding and howling, and never more
returned to hinder the work of the wood-cutters, who,
now that they were able to carry on their task un-
disturbed, succeeded in time in cutting down the Iei
Tree.
Thus Ka Phreit, the smallest of all the birds, helped
mankind to bring back sunshine and prosperity to the
world.
IX
HUNTING THE STAG LAPALANG
ONCE upon a time there lived with its dam on the Plains
of Sylhet a young deer whose fame has come down
through the ages in Khasi folk-lore. The story of the
Stag Lapalang, as he was called, continues to fascinate
generation after generation of Khasi youths, and the
merry cowboys, as they sit in groups on the wild hill-
sides watching their flocks, love to relate the oft-told
tale and to describe what they consider the most famous
hunt in history.
The Stag Lapalang was the noblest young animal of
his race that had ever been seen in the forest and was
the pride of his mother’s heart. She watched over him
with a love not surpassed by the love of a human mother,
keeping him jealously at her side, guarding him from
all harm.
As he grew older the young stag, conscious of his own
matchless grace and splendid strength, began to feel
dissatisfied with the narrow confines and limited scope
of the forest where they lived and to weary of his
mother’s constant warnings and counsels. He longed
to explore the world and to put his mettle to the test.
His mother had been very indulgent to him all his
life and had allowed him to have much of his own way,
49 E
50 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS IX
so there was no restraining him when he expressed his
determination to go up to the Khasi Hills to seek begonia
leaves to eat. His mother entreated and warned him,
but all in vain. He insisted on going, and she watched
him sorrowfully as with stately strides and lifted head
he went away from his forest home. ©
Matters went well with the Stag Lapalang at first ;
he found on the hills plenty of begonia leaves and
delicious grass to eat, and he revelled in the freedom of
the cool heights. But one day he was seen by some
village boys, who immediately gave the alarm, and men
soon hurried to the chase: the hunting-cry rang from
village to village and echoed from crag to crag. The .
hunting instincts of the Khasis were roused and men
poured forth from every village and hamlet. Oxen were
forgotten at the plough; loads were thrown down and
scattered; nothing mattered for the moment but the
wild exciting chase over hill and valley. Louder sounded
the hunting cry, farther it echoed from crag to crag, still
wilder grew the chase. From hill to hill and from glen to
glen came the hunters, with arrows and spears and staves
and swords, hot in pursuit of the Stag Lapalang. He
was swift, he was young, he was strong—for days he
eluded his pursuers and kept them at bay; but he was
only one unarmed creature against a thousand armed
men. His fall was inevitable, and one day on the slopes
of the Shillong mountain he was surrounded, and after
a brave and desperate struggle for his life, the noble
young animal died with a thousand arrows quivering
in his body. _
The lonely mother on the Plains of Sylhet became
uneasy at the delay of the return of the Stag Lapalang,
and when she heard the echoes of the hunting-cry from
x HUNTING THE STAG LAPALANG 51
the hills her anxiety became more than she could endure.
Full of dread misgivings, she set out in quest of her
wanderer, but when she reached the Khasi hills, she was
told that he had been hunted to death on the slopes of
Shillong, and the news broke her heart.
Staggering under the weight of her sorrow, she
traversed the rugged paths through the wildwoods,
seeking her dead offspring, and as she went her loud
heartrending cries were heard throughout the country,
arresting every ear. Women, sitting on their hearths,
heard it and swooned from the pain of it, and the children
‘hid their faces in dismay; men at work in the fields
heard it and bowed their heads and writhed with the
anguish of it. Not a shout was raised for a signal at
sight of that stricken mother, not a hand was lifted to
molest her, and when the huntsmen on the slopes of
Shillong heard that bitter cry their shouts of triumph
froze upon their lips, and they broke their arrows in
shivers.
Never before was heard a lamentation so mournful,
so plaintive, so full of sorrow and anguish and misery,
as the lament of the mother of the Stag Lapalang as she
sought him in death on the slopes of Shillong. The
Ancient Khasis were so impressed by this demonstration
of deep love and devotion that they felt their own
manner of mourning for their dead to be very inferior
and orderless, and without meaning. Henceforth they
resolved that they also would mourn their departed
ones in this devotional way, and many of the formulas
used in Khasi lamentations in the present day are those
attributed to the mother of the Stag Lapalang when she
found him hunted to death on the slopes of Shillong
hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
».4
THE GODDESSES KA NGOT AND KA JAM
(A LEGEND oF SHILLONG PEAK)
Ka [am and Ka Ngot, the twin daughters of the god of
Shillong, were two very beautiful beings; they were
lively and frolicsome, and were indulged and given much
freedom by the family. Like all twins they were never
happy if long separated. One day the two climbed to
the top of the Shillong mountain to survey the country.
In the distance they saw the woody plains of Sylhet, and
they playfully challenged one another to run a race to
see who would reach the plains first.
Ka Ngot was more retiring and timid than her sister,
and was half afraid to begin the race; Ka Iam, on the
other hand, was venturesome and fearless, and had been
called Ka Iam because of her noisy and turbulent dis-
position. Before the race she spoke very confidently
of her own victory, and teased her sister on account of
her timidity.
After a little preparation for the journey the twins
transformed themselves into two rivers and started to
run their race. Ka Ngot, searching for smooth and easy
places, meandered slowly, taking long circuits, and came
in time to Sylhet ; but not finding her sister there, she
52
x KA NGOT AND KA IAM 53
went forward to Chhatak, and on slowly towards Dewara.
Seeing no sign yet of her sister, she became very anxious
and turned back to seek her ; and, in turning, she took a
long curve which looked in the brilliant sunshine like a
curved silver chain, and the Khasis living on the hill-
tops, when they saw it, exclaimed with wonder: ‘* Rupa-
tylli, Rupatylli! ”’ (A silver necklace, a silver necklace !)
and to this day that part of the river is known as
*“ Rupatylli.”
Ka Iam, full of vigour and ambition, did not linger
to look for easy passages, but with a noisy rush she
plunged straight in the direction of Shella, the shortest
cut she could find. She soon found, however, that the
road she had chosen was far more difficult to travel than
she had anticipated. Large rocks impeded her path at
many points, and she was obliged to spend much time
in boring her way through; but she pitted her young
strength against all obstacles, and in time she reached
Shella and came in view of the plains, where, to her
chagrin, she saw that her sister had reached the goal
before her, and was coming back leisurely to meet her.
It was a great humiliation, for she had boasted of her
victory before the race began, but, hoping to conceal her
defeat from the world, she divided herself into five
streams, and in that way entered the plains, and jomed
her sister. The rivers are called after the two goddesses
to this day, and are known as “Ka Um Ngot”’ and
“Ka Um Iam” (the river Ngot and the river
Tam).
Ever since Ka Ngot won the great race she has been
recognised as the greater of the two twins, and more
reverence has been paid to her as a goddess. Even in
the present day there are many Khasis and Syntengs
54 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS x
who will not venture to cross the “ Um Ngot” without
first sacrificing to the goddess; and when, on their
journeys, they happen to catch a glimpse of its waters,
_ they salute and give a greeting of ‘‘ Khublei”’ to the
goddess Ka Ngot who won the great race.
XI
U BISKUROM
In the beginning of time mankind were very ignorant
and did their work with great trouble and labour, for
they had no tools and did not understand the way to
make them. The Great God saw their difficulty from
heaven, and He sent one of the heavenly beings down
to the earth, in the likeness of a young man, to teach
them. The name of this young man was U Biskurom.
He was very noble to look at, and none of the sons of
mankind could compare with him; he was also very
gentle and good.
He taught mankind many useful crafts. From him
they learned to know the value of metals and the way
to smelt iron and to make tools, but mankind were very
slow to learn, and liked better to muddle in their own
old way than to follow the directions given them by U
Biskurom, so he had to stay such a long time on the
earth that he forgot the way back to heaven. He was,
however, so patient and painstaking that at last they
learned to make good tools and to use them.
Seeing that U Biskurom excelled them in finishing
his instruments, and that he could do double their work
in a day, mankind took advantage of his gentleness.
They used him to save trouble to themselves, and often
55
56 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xI
demanded work from him that it was impossible for him
to do, and when he failed to satisfy them they grew
angry and abusive.
One day they made a clay image and called upon U
Biskurom to make it alive; when be told them that he
had not learnt how to produce life, they abused him and
threatened to imprison him until he complied with their
request. When U Biskurom saw that they would not
listen to reason, he told them that if they wanted him to
impart life to their images they must let him go back to
heaven to gain the necessary knowledge. Upon this
mankind took counsel together what to do. Some feared
that if they let him go away he would never return.
Others (the majority, however) thought that as the
knowledge of how to impart life would be so valuable, it
was worth risking a good deal to obtain it ; so mankind
decided to release U Biskurom.
As he had forgotten the road along which he came to
the earth, it was necessary for U Biskurom to invent some
means whereby he could go up to heaven; so he told
mankind to twine a long piece of string and to make
a strong kite on which he could ascend to the sky. So
mankind twined a long string and made a strong kite, and
U Biskurom rode upon it to the sky. When they said,
“* Perhaps if we let you go you will not come back,”’ he
told them not to let go of the string, so that if he was not
allowed to come back, he could write the knowledge
on the kite and send it down to them. This satisfied them
and they let him go.
When U Biskurom reached heaven the Great God
told him that he could not go back to the earth because
He had seen how mankind had ill-treated bim, and
because of their ingratitude and their unholy ambition
XI U BISKUROM 57
to impart life. So U Biskurom wrote upon the kite and
sent it down to the earth.
When mankind saw the kite descending a great throng
came together to read the directions for imparting life,
but to their chagrin there was not one among them able
to decipher the writing. They consulted together what
to do, for they were very angry with U Biskurom, and
they decided to send a great shout to heaven, which
would cause such a volley that the concussion would
kill U Biskurom. :
U Biskurom laughed when he saw their folly, and in
order to make them still more foolish, he caused some
drops of blood to fall down from heaven, and when
mankind saw these drops of blood they concluded that
he had been killed by the force of their great shout.
Because of their ingratitude and their uplifted pride
mankind have remained in great ignorance, and all the
knowledge they possess is very imperfect and gained at
great labour and expense.
XII
U THLEN, THE SNAKE-VAMPIRE
U_ THLEN is one of the legendary Khasi gods, whose
worship is limited to a few clans and families. From
participation in it all right-thinking Khasis recoil
with loathing and horror, masmuch as it involves the
perpetration of crimes, for this god can only be pro-
pitiated by offerings of human sacrifices, with many
revolting and barbaric rites.
The clans who are reputed to be the devotees and
worshippers of the Thlen are regarded with aversion
and fear throughout the country, and to them are attri-
buted many kinds of atrocities, such as the kidnapping
of children, murders and attempted murders, and
many are the tales of hair-breadth escapes from the
clutches of these miscreants, who are known as Nong-
shohnohs. Within quite recent times murders have
been committed which are still shrouded in mystery,
but which are said to have indications that the victims
were killed for the purpose of Thlen sacrifice.
The following folk-tale purports to give an account
of the origin and propagation of U Thlen, the most
remorseless and cruel of all the Khasi deities.
According to tradition the Hima (state) of Cherra
was, in olden times, the haunt of many famous Blets
58
xi U THLEN, THE SNAKE-VAMPIRE 59
(gods) who dominated the lives of men. These deities
were said to dwell in certain localities, which in con-
sequence came to be recognised as sacred places, and
frequently to be called after the names of the Bleis.
Foremost among these gods was U Mawlong Siem, and
the hill where he was supposed to dwell is called after
his name to the present day, and the inhabitants of
certain villages still offer sacrifices to him.
In common with mankind, U Mawlong Siem is
described as having a family, who, also m common
with mankind, took pleasure in dancing and festivity.
It is said that people sometimes hear the sound of
revelry and the beating of drums within the mountain,
supposed to be the drums of U Mawlong Siem beaten
to the accompaniment of the dancing of his children,
‘the sound of which invariably portends the death of ©
a Siem or some great personage.
The only one of his family whose name and history
have been transmitted was a daughter called Ka Kma
Kharai, which signifies one that roams about in trenches
or hidden nooks. She was well known in the Blev-
world, and she possessed the power of assuming what-
ever form she pleased. She often assumed the form
of a woman and mingled with mankind without any-
body suspecting her identity. Many of the Blevs sought
her in marriage, but U Mawlong Siem, her father,
would never give his consent, lest his prestige be lowered
among the Bleis.
There was one suitor whom Ka Kma Kharai specially
favoured. He was the god of Umwai, but her father
forbade the union so sternly as to dispel all the hopes
of the lovers. This so angered the young goddess that
henceforth she rebelled openly agaist her father, and
60 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xt
by way of retaliation she encouraged the attentions of
strange and undesirable lovers.
When it was discovered that she was with. child,
she fled from her home, fearing the wrath of her father,
and put herself under the protection of her maternal
uncle, who lived in the Pomdoloi cave, and was one of
the famous dragons, or Yak Jakors of the country.
‘THE HAUNT OF KA KMA KHARAI.
In this cave a son was born to her, who proved to be a
monster of hideous aspect, having the form of a snake
and the characteristics of a vampire, who could be
appeased only when fed with human blood. This
monster they called U ‘fhlen.
Unlike his mother, U Thlen could not transform
himself into any likeness but that of a snake, but he
had power to diminish or to enlarge his size at will.
Sometimes he appeared so small as to be no bigger than
xII U THLEN, THE SNAKE-VAMPIRE 61
a string of fine thread, at other times he expanded
himself to such dimensions that he could swallow a
man bodily.
In those days there was much intercourse between
the Bleis and mankind. The latter were privileged to
attend the Iew-blex—the fair of the Blers—at Lynghing-
khongkhen, the way to which passed the Pomdoloi
cave, and many unwary and unprotected travellers
fell a prey to the greed of U Thlen and his associates.
The commonest mode by which these poor un-
fortunates were lured to their doom was through the
blandishments of Ka Kma Kharai, who approached them
in the form of a woman merchant, and dazzled them
with the brilliancy of the jewelry she offered for sale.
She refrained from killing her captives on occasions,
but induced them by promises of riches and immunity
to pledge themselves to the services of U Thlen, her
son. To such as these she gave a magic ring, known
in ancient lore as the Yngkuid Ring (Sati Yngkuid)
which was believed to possess magic that enabled the
owners of the ring to obtain all the desires of their
hearts, but this magic was dormant until the owners
fulfilled their obligations to U Thlen and brought him
human victims to feed upon.
The method by which U Yak Jakor captured his
victims was to waylay lonely travellers and to club them
to death. U Thlen himself, when he grew-old enough,
also hunted men to death, so that between the three
murderers the ravages made upon mankind were
becoming grievous and intolerable.
- Mankind sought divinations and offered sacrifices
to the gods for the cessation of these atrocities, upon
which a Durbar of the Blevs was called. U Mawlong
62 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xr
Siem, who was a powerful Ble: and a blood-relation of
the murderers, overruled the Durbar, declaring that
no authority could deprive the Bleis, or the demons, of
any power they possessed, be it for good or for evil ;
but to mitigate the distress of mankind a decree was
issued, restricting the number of people to be devoured
to half the number of captives. If U Thlen captured two
victims, one was to be released, if he captured ten, five
were to be released. It transpired, however, that this
decree helped but little to allay the sufferings of mankind,
for murders continued at an appalling rate.
Mankind again sought divination and took counsel
together, and it was made evident that the only one
who could successfully help them was U Suidnoh (the
fleeting demon), an erratic and insignificant being who
haunted the forest of Lait-rngew to the north of Cherra.
The Khasis hitherto had never recognised him as
worthy of homage, but they went to offer him sacrifices
then, according to the divinations. U Suidnoh volun-
teered to rescue them, but affirmed that the Snake
could never be overcome without the sanction of a
Blet, and inasmuch as the Blets of the Cherra Hima
had already refused their aid, he urged them to go and
sacrifice to U ’Lei Shillong—the god of the Shillong
mountain—and to invoke his aid and win his favour.
So mankind offered sacrifices to U *Lei Shillong, and
received his sanction to wage war against U Thlen.
U Suidnoh, equipped in all his strength, went forth
to Pomdoloi and ordered the Khasis to bring to him
many fat pigs and goats. These he killed and carried
regularly to feed the Thlen in the cave, and this was
the manner in which he made his offering. He bored
a large hole in a rock roofing the cave, so that the
U THLEN, THE SNAKE-VAMPIRE 63
m
“SHLITONON GMV ZAO¥O azEOVE
64 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xt
carcases might be passed down without being seen by
U Thlen, and so he would not discover that they were
not human bodies. He assumed the voice and manner
of a Thien worshipper and called out: “‘ My uncle, I
have brought my tribute, open your mouth that I may
feed you.”” U Thien is described as being slothful and
sleepy, never rousing himself except to seek food.
When he heard the call from above he would shake
himself and expand to a great size, and open wide his
jaws, into which the meat offering was thrust. In this
way mankind had respite for a time, and the hunting
of men ceased.
It was evident, however, that they must resort to
some other measures, for it was impossible to continue
to keep up the supply of fat animals. The Khasis
began to grumble at the extravagant proceedings of
U Suidnoh, but he always replied to their complaints
with the words, “‘ Kovt, kowt,” signifying that all was well.
After a time he told them to hire the services of U
Ramhah, the giant, to assist him in his final struggle
against the vampire. When U Ramhah came he bade
him build a smelting-house near the cave, and to make
a pair of giant tongs, and such was the strength of
U Ramhah that it only took him one day to build the
smelting-house and to make the giant tongs. Next
day U Suidnoh told him to heat a large piece of iron,
and to bring it when it was red-hot in the big tongs
to the rock on the top of the cave. When this was done
U Suidnoh called out according to his custom: “‘ My
uncle, I have brought my tribute, open your mouth
that I may feed you”; so the Thlen shook himself and
expanded his body to a gigantic size, and opened his
jaws for the offering, whereupon the red-hot iron was
XII U THLEN, THE SNAKE-VAMPIRE 65
thrust in. Upon this there followed the most terrible
contortions of the Thlen’s body, as he tossed about,
writhing in his death agony, till the earth shook so
violently that U Suidnoh and U Ramhah swooned
from the concussion. When the disturbance subsided,
and they had revived, they looked into the cave and
found U Thlen lying dead.
U Suidnoh sounded a big drum to summon the
people together, and great jubilation and dancing took
place when it was announced that their enemy was
dead. From that time the Khasis have offered sacrifices
to U Suidnoh, and he is held in great honour.
The people held a council to consider how to dispose
of the body of the Thlen, and it was decided that to
make their triumph complete it was better to prepare
a feast and to eat the body of U Thlen, so the carcase.
was dragged out of the cave and was divided on a flat
rock into two portions. One portion was given to the
people of the plains from the East, to be cooked after
their manner, the other was given to the Khasis from
the hills and the West to be cooked after their manner.
The marks of the axe are said to be seen on the rock to
this day, and the place is called Dain Thlen (the cutting
of the Thlen). The hole which was bored by U Suidnoh
in the top of the cave is also said to be visible to this
day.
It happened that more people came to the feast
from the plains than from the hills; moreover, they
were accustomed to eat eels and snakes, so they con-
sidered the Thlen meat very palatable and savoury.
They ate the whole of their portion and departed to
their villages happily, and they were never afterwards
troubled by Thlens. On the other hand the Khasis
F
66 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XtL
were unused to the flesh of reptiles, and they found
the Thlen meat very unsavoury and strange-flavoured,
so that when their feasting was done, a great portion
of the meat remained uneaten.
This caused no little perplexity, for it was deemed
possible for the Thlen to come and reanimate the un-
consumed portions of his body, so they kindled a big
fire to burn all the fragments of meat to ashes, after
which they gave a glad shout, believing themselves
for ever safe from the ravages of U Thlen.
A certain woman, whose son had neglected his duties
and stayed away from the feast, was sorely troubled
in her mind, fearing that some ill luck might befall him,
and a curse come on the family, because her son
had wilfully disregarded the*feast of conquest. While
helping to gather the fragments of meat for burning,
she surreptitiously hid a piece in the fold of her dress
to take home to her son. When she reached her house
she put the meat away in a covered vessel pending her
son’s arrival. When the son returned he brought news
of many misfortunes which he had met that day, and
particularly of the loss of much money, which loss he
attributed to his neglect of the important feast; but
when his mother told him how she had contrived to
bring him a little of the Thlen meat, he was somewhat -
cheered, hoping that by this participation he might
be helped to retrieve his fallen fortunes. To their
dismay, when they uncovered the vessel, there was no
meat left, only a tiny live snake wriggling about. They
were preparing to destroy it when the little snake began
to speak to them in their own tongue, beseeching them
not to kill him. He said he was U Thien come back
to life, and that he was there by the decrees of the
x U THLEN, THE SNAKE-VAMPIRE 67
Bleis to bring them good fortune for as long as they
gave him harbour and tribute.
It was a great temptation, coming as it did, when
they had met with great losses, so, without thinking
much of the consequences, they allowed the Thien to
live, harbouring it in secret without the knowledge
of outsiders.
When U Thien had fully regained his vitality, he
demanded human sacrifices from them, which made
them shudder with horror. But U Thlen was relentless,
and threatened to devour them as a family, if they did
not comply with his request, and when they saw one
member of the family after another beginning to languish,
fear for their lives drove them to hunt their fellow-men
and to murder them, to propitiate U Thien and to
keep his good favour. Gradually U Thlen cast his
sway over other families also, and won them to give
him tribute. As his devotees increased he reproduced
himself mysteriously, so that in place of one Thlen
living in a cave where everybody knew him to be, there
arose many Thlens, living concealed in the houses of
the Nongshohnohs who, to preserve their_own safety
and the goodwill of U Thlen, have become men-hunters-
and murderers, of whom the Khasis live in deadly fear
_to this day.
XII
HOW THE DOG CAME TO LIVE WITH MAN
In the happy olden days, when the animals lived together
at peace in the forest, they used to hold fairs and markets
after the manner of mankind. The most important
fair of all was called ‘‘ Ka Iew Luri Lura ” (the Fair of
Luri Lura), which was held at stated intervals in the
Bhoi (forest) country. Thither gathered all the animals,
each one bringing some article of merchandise, according
to the decree which demanded that every animal that
came to the fair should bring something to sell. No
matter whether he was young or old, rich or poor, no
one was to come empty-handed, for they wanted to
enhance the popularity of the market. U Khla, the
tiger, was appointed governor of the fair.
Man was excluded from these fairs as he was looked
upon as an enemy. He used to hunt the animals with
his bow and arrows, so they had ceased to fraternise with
him and kept out of his way. But one day the dog left
his own kindred in the jungle, and became the attendant
of Man. The following story tells how that came to
pass. |
One day U Ksew, the dog, walked abroad in search of
goods to sell at the fair. The other animals were thnfty
and industrious, they worked to produce their merchan-
68
xm HOW THE DOG LIVED WITH MAN 69
dise, but the dog, being of an indolent nature, did not
like to work, though he was very desirous to go to the
fair. So, to avoid the censure of his neighbours and
the punishment of the governor of the fair, he set outin
search of something he could get without much labour
to himself. He trudged about the country all day,
inquiring at many villages, but when evening-time
AT THE FOOT OF THE SHILLONG MOUNTAINS.
came he had not succeeded in purchasing any suitable
goods, and he began to fear that he would have to
forgo the pleasure of attending the fair after all.
Just as the sun was setting he found himself on the
outskirts of Saddew village, on the slopes of the Shillong
Mountain, and as he sniffed the air he became aware of a
strong and peculiar odour, which he guessed came from
some cooked food. Being hungry after his long tramp,
70 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xm
he pushed his way forward, following the scent till he
came to a house right in the middle of the village, where
he saw the family at dinner, which he noticed they were
eating with evident relish. The dinner consisted of
fermented Khasi beans, known as ktung rymbaz, from
which the strong smell emanated.
The Khasis are naturally a very cordial and hospitable
people, and when the good wife of the house saw the dog
standing outside looking wistfully at them she invited
him to partake of what food there was left in the pot.
U Ksew thankfully accepted, and by reason of his great
hunger he ate heartily, regardless of the strange flavour
and smell of the food, and he considered the ktung
rymbat very palatable.
It dawned on him that here, quite by accident, he had
found a novel and marketable produce to take to the
fair; and it happened that the kindly family who had
entertained him had a quantity of the stuff for sale
which they kept in earthen jars, sealed with clay to retain
ite flavour. After a little palaver according to custom,
a bargain was struck, and U Ksew became the owner of
one good-sized jar of ktung rymbar, which he cheerfully
took on his back. He made his way across the hills to
Luri Lura fair, chuckling to himself as he anticipated
the sensation he would create and the profits he would
gain, and the praise he would win for being so enter-
prising.
On the way he encountered many of the animals who
like himself were all going to Luri Lura, and carrying
merchandise on their backs to sell at the fair: to them
U Ksew boasted of the wonderful food he had discovered
and was bringing with him to the market in the earthen
jar under the clay seal. He talked so much about it
xm HOW THE DOG LIVED WITH MAN 71
that the contents of the earthen jar became the general
topic of conversation between the animals, for never had
such an article been known at Luri Lura.
When he arrived at the fair the dog walked in with
great consequence, and installed himself and his earthen
jar in the most central place with much clatter and
ostentation. Then he began to shout at the top of
his voice, ‘“‘Come and buy my good food,” and what
with his boastings on the road and the noise he made
at the fair, a very large company gathered round him,
stretching their necks to have a glimpse at the strange-
looking jar, and burning with curiosity to see the much-
advertised contents.
U Ksew, with great importance, proceeded to uncover
the jar; but assoon as he broke the clay seal a puff of the
most unsavoury and fcetid odour issued forth and drove
all the animals scrambling to a safe distance, much to
the dog’s discomfiture and the merriment of the crowd.
They hooted and jeered, and made all sorts of disparaging
remarks till U Ksew felt himself covered with shame.
The stag pushed forward, and to show his disdain he
contemptuously kicked the earthen jar till it broke.
This increased the laughter and the jeering, and more of
the animals came forwards and they began to trample the
ktung rymbai in the mud, taking no notice of the pro-
testations of U Ksew, who, felt himself very unjustly
treated. He went to U Khla, the governor of the fair, to
ask for redress, but here again he was met with ridicule
and scorn, and told that he deserved all the treatment
he had received for filling the market-place with such a
stench.
At last U Ksew’s patience wore out, he grew snappish
and angry, and with loud barks and snarls he began to
12 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xu
curse the animals with many curses, threatening to be
avenged upon them all some day. At the time no one
heeded his curses and threats, for the dog was but a
contemptible animal in their estimation, and it was not
thought possible for him to work much harm. Yet even
on that day a part of his curse came true, for the animals
found to their dismay that the smell of the ktung rymbat
clung to their paws and their hoofs, and could not be
obliterated ; so the laughter was not all on their side.
Humiliated and angry, the dog determined to leave the
fair and the forest and his own tribe, and to seek more
congenial surroundings; so he went away from Lun
Lura, never to return, and came once more to Saddew
village, to the house of the family from whom he had
bought the offending food. When the master of the
house heard the story of the ill-treatment he had suffered
from the animals, he pitied U Ksew, and he also considered
that the insults touched himself as well as the dog, in-
asmuch as it was he who had prepared and sold the
kitung rymbar. So he spoke consolingly to U Ksew and
patted his head and told him to remain in the village with
him, and that he would protect him and help him to
avenge his wrongs upon the animals.
After the coming of the dog, Man became a very suc-
cessful hunter, for the dog, who always accompanied him
when he went out to hunt, was able to follow the trail ©
of the animals by the smell of the ktung rymbat, which
adhered to their feet. Thus the animals lived to rue the
day when they played their foolish pranks on U Ksew
and his earthen jar at the fair of Luri Lura.
Man, having other occupations, could not always go
abroad to the jungle to hunt; so in order to secure a
supply of meat for himself during the non-hunting
xm |§ HOW THE DOG LIVED WITH MAN' 73
seasons he tamed pigs and kept them at hand in the
village. When the dog came he shared the dwelling
and the meals of the pig, U Sniang; they spent their
days in idleness, living on the bounty of Man.
One evening, as Man was returning from his field,
tired with the day’s toil, he noticed the two idle animals
and he said to himself—“ It is very foolish of me to do all
the hard work myself while these two well-fed creatures —
are lying idle. They ought to take a turn at doing some
work for their food.”
The following morning Man commanded the two
animals to go to the field to plough in his stead. When |
they arrived there U Sniang, in obedience to his master’s
orders, began to dig with his snout, and by nightfall had
managed to furrow quite a large patch of the field; but
U Ksew, according to his indolent habits, did no work at
all. He lay in the shade all day, or amused himself by ~
snapping at the flies. In the evening, when it was time to
go home, he would start running backwards and forwards
over the furrows, much to the annoyance of the pig.
The same thing happened for many days in succession,
till the patience of the pig was exhausted, and on their
return from the field one evening he went and informed
their master of the conduct of the dog, how he was idling
the whole day and leaving all the work for him to do.
The master was loth to believe these charges against
U Ksew, whom he had found such an active and willing
helper in the chase: he therefore determined to go and
examine the field. When he came there he found only a
few of the footprints of the pig, while those of the dog
were all over the furrows. He at once concluded that
U Sniang had falsely charged his friend, and he was
exceedingly wroth with him.
74 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS | xm
When he came home, Man called the two animals to
him, and he spoke very angrily to U Sniang, and told him
that henceforth he would have to live in a little sty by
himself, and to eat only the refuse from Man’s table and
other common food, as a punishment for making false
charges against his friend; but the dog would be
privileged to live in the house with his master, and to
share the food of his master’s family.
Thus it was that the dog came to live with Man.
XIV
THE ORIGIN OF BETEL AND TOBACCO
Lone, long ago two boys lived in a village on the slopes
of the hills, who were very fond of one another and
were inseparable companions. The name of one was
U Riwbha ; he was the son of one of the wealthiest men
in the country. The other was called U Baduk, who
belonged to one of the lowly families ; but the difference
in station was no barrier to the affection of the children
for one another. Every day they sought one another
out, and together they roamed abroad in the fields and
the forests, learning to know the birds and the flowers ;
together they learned to swim in the rivers, together they
learned to use the bow and arrow, and to play on the
flute. They loved the same pastimes and knew the
same friends.
As they grew up they were not able to spend so much
time together. U Riwbha had to overlook his father’s
property, which involved many days’ absence from the
village ; while U Baduk went every day to labour in
the fields to earn his own rice and to help his parents, who
were poor. But the old friendship remained as firm as
ever between the two young men, they trusted one
another fully, and the one kept no secrets from the
other.
75
16 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xv
In the course of time they took to themselves wives
and became the heads of families. U Riwbha’s wife,
like himself, belonged to one of the wealthy families, so
that by his marriage his influence in the village increased,
and he became very rich and prosperous. U Baduk also
married into his own class and went to live in a distant
A VIEW IN THE REPUTED REGION WHERE U RANHAH THE GIANT
COMMITTED HIS ATROCITIES.
village, but he never gathered riches like his friend ;
nevertheless he was very happy. He had a good and
thrifty wife, and side by side they daily toiled in the
fields to supply their simple wants as a family.
Thus circumstances kept the two friends apart, for
they seldom met. The old regard was not in the least
abated by absence, rather the bond seemed to be drawn
xiv THE ORIGIN OF BETEL AND TOBACCO 177
closer and closer as the years went by. Occasionally
U Baduk journeyed to his native village to see his people
and friends, and on these occasions nowhere was he made
more welcome than in the house of his friend U Riwbha,
who insisted upon his spending the greater part of his
time with him, and partaking of many sumptuous
meals at his house. Thus the two old comrades renewed
their intimacy and affection.
On his return home from one such visit U Baduk’s
wife told him that their neighbours had been talking a
great deal and making disparaging remarks about the
intimacy between them and their wealthy friend, hinting
that no such friendship existed, that it was only U
Baduk’s boast that he had rich friends in his own
village. If there were such an intimacy as he pre-
tended, why had his rich friend never come to see
them when U Baduk was constantly going to visit him ?
He was vexed to hear this, not so much because they
condemned him, but because they were casting asper-
sions on his best friend, so he determined to invite his
friend to pay them a visit.
When U Baduk paid his next visit to his village, and
had as usual accepted the hospitality of his friend, he
ventured to say, “I am always coming to see you and
partaking of your hospitality, but you have not been
to see me once since I got married.”
To this U Riwbha replied, “ Very true, my dear
friend, very true, but do not take it amiss that I never
thought of this before. You know that I have much
business on my hands, and have no leisure like many
people to take my pleasures; but I have been too
remiss towards you, and I must make haste to remedy
my fault. Give my greeting to your wife, and tell her
18 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XIV
that I will start from here to-morrow to come to pay
you both a visit, and to give myself the pleasure of |
tasting a dish of her curry and rice.”’
Highly gratified and pleased, U Baduk hastened home
to tell his wife of his friend’s projected visit, and urged
her to rouse herself and to cook the most savoury meal
she was capable of. She too was very pleased to hear
that the man they respected and loved so much was
coming to see them; but she said, “‘ It has come very
suddenly, when I am not prepared ; we have neither fish
nor rice in the house.”’
‘‘That is mdeed unfortunate,” said the husband,
“but we have kind neighbours from whom we have
never asked a favour before. You must go out and
borrow what is wanted from them, for it would be too
great a disgrace not to have food to place before our
friend when he comes.”’
The wife went out as requested by her husband, but
although she walked the whole length of the village there
was no one who could spare her any rice or fish, and she
returned home gloomy and disheartened and told her
husband of her ill-success. When U Baduk heard this
bad news he was extremely troubled and said, ‘“ What
sort of a world is this to live in, where a morsel of food
cannot be obtained to offer hospitality to a friend?
It is better to die than to live.”” Whereupon he seized
a knife and stabbed himself to death.
When the wife saw that her good husband was
dead, she was smitten with inconsolable grief, and
she cried out, “‘ What is there for me to live for now ?
It is better that I also should die.’”’? Thereupon she
in her turn seized the knife and stabbed herself to
death.
xiv THE ORIGIN OF BETEL AND TOBACCO 79
It happened that a notorious robber called U Nongtuh
was wandering through the village that night, and, as
it was cold, he bethought himself of sneaking into one
of the houses where the family had gone to sleep, to
warm himself. He saw that a fire was burning in U
Baduk’s house, and that it was very silent within. He
determined to enter. ‘‘ They are hard-working people,”
said he to himself, “‘and will sleep soundly; I can
safely sit and warm myself without their knowing any-
thing about me.” So he squatted down comfortably on
the hearth, not knowing that the two dead bodies lay on
the floor close to him.
Before long the warmth made him drowsy, and
without thinking U Nongtuh fell asleep, and did not
awake until the day was dawning; he jumped up hastily,
hoping to escape before the village was astir, but. he
saw the two dead bodies and was greatly terrified. A
great trembling took him, and he began to mutter wildly,
“What an unfortunate man I am to have entered this
house! The neighbours will say that I killed these
people ; it will be useless for me to deny it, for I have
such an evil reputation nobody will believe me. It is
better for me to die by my own hand here than to be
caught by the villagers, and be put to death like a
murderer.”” Whereupon he seized the knife and stabbed
himself to death; so there were three victims on the
floor, lying dead side by side, all because there was no
food in the house to offer hospitality to a friend.
The morning advanced, and when the neighbours
noticed that no one stirred abroad from U Baduk’s
house they flocked there to find out what was the matter.
When they saw the three dead bodies they were filled
with sadness and compuncetion, for they remembered how
80 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XIV
they had refused to lend them food the night before,
to prepare entertainment for their friend.
In the course of the day U Riwbha arrived according
to the promise made to his friend, and when he was told
of the terrible tragedy his sorrow knew no bounds; he
sat wailing and mourning by the body of the friend that
he loved best, and would not be comforted. “ Alas! ”’
he wailed, “‘ that a man should lose such a true friend
because the world is become so hard for the poor that to
entertain a friend is a greater burden than they can bear.”’
For many hours he wept and sorrowed, praying to the
Great God to show a way of keeping up the customs of
hespitality without the poor having to suffer and be
crushed, as his own good friend had been crushed.
Just about that time the Great God walked abroad
to look on the universe, and he saw the sorrow of U
Riwbha, and took pity on his tears, and made known
that from henceforth He would cause to grow three
valuable plants, which were to be used by mankind in
future as the means of entertainment, whereby the poor
as well as the rich could indulge in the entertainment of
friends without being burdened. Immediately three
trees which had never been known to mankind before
were seen springing up from the ground where the dead
' bodies lay. They were the Betel, the Pan, and the
Tobacco.
From that time it became a point of etiquette in Khasi
households, rich and poor alike, to offer betel nut and
pan or a whiff of tobacco from the hookah to friends
when they make calls.
XV
THE STAG AND THE SNAIL
Ow the day of the animals’ fair at Luri Lura, the stag
and the snail met. It was a very hot day, and the
animals as they travelled to the fair eagerly sought
the shelter of the trees. There was a large Rubber
grove in the forest, and thither many of the animals
hasted, panting from the great heat, and there laid
down their burdens for a while and rested in the cool
shades. |
It was a familiar rendezvous, and many of the animals
turned there, as much from habit as from fatigue, glad
to meet old acquaintances. On the day which concerns
this story there was an unusually large throng, and
they chatted together sociably about the different events
of their lives and the circumstances of their neighbours.
In one corner a group were noisily comparing notes
with one another about the length of time it had taken
them to travel certain distances. In this group was
the stag, who monopolised the conversation, and boasted
of his own speed, and the buffalo, trying to be affable,
said that they were bound to admit that the stag was
now the swiftest animal in the jungle, since the dog
had run away to Man, and the entire company nodded
in agreement,
8] G
82 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XV
There was, however, a little grey snail in the grass
with her shell on her back, who was very disgusted
with the boastings of the animals, especially of the stag,
as if swiftness was the only virtue to which an animal
ought to aspire. In order to put a stop to their talk,
she called out mockingly for them to look at the lather
that covered their bodies from over-exertion, and to
compare her own cool skin, which had not perspired at
all in spite of the journey ; consequently, she claimed
the honours for good travelling for herself.
This was received with much displeasure by the
animals, who felt that their dignity had been flouted,
for the snail was an insect in their estimation, not fit
to be admitted to their august company. The stag
began to canter gracefully round the grove to prove
his superiority, his fellow animals applauding admir-
ingly ; but the little snail was not to be silenced, and
to show her contempt she challenged the stag to run a
long race with her, declaring that she would beat him.
Many of the animals urged the stag not to heed the
challenge of the snail, as it was only given to affront
him, but he said that unless he would run she would
always insult him and call him a coward who had
shown fear of a snail. So it was settled that the stag
and the snail should run a long race, from the Rubber
grove to the top of Mount Shillong, on the animals’
return from Luri Lura.
The name of this little grey snail was Ka Mattah.
As soon as the animals left the grove she summoned
together all her tribe to consider how to proceed so
as to beat the stag in the long race. Many of the snail
family found fault with her for her foolish challenge,
but they were all prepared to help her out of her difficulty,
XV THE STAG AND THE SNAIL 83
and to save her from the disgrace of defeat. It was
decided in the family council that the snails should
form themselves into a long line edging the path all
the way from the Rubber grove to Mount Shillong, and
hide themselves in the grass, so as not to be discovered
by the stag. So the snails dispersed and formed them-
selves into a long line on the edge of the path.
As soon as they had sold their wares, the animals
_ hastened to the grove, laughing among themselves as
they walked at the foolishness of Ka Mattah in setting
herself up against the swiftest of the animals, and they
planned how to make her the general laughing-stock
of the jungle for her audacity. When they reached
the Rubber grove they found Ka Mattah ready for the
race, having discarded her cumbersome shell and put
herself into a racing attitude on the path, which caused
them no little amusement. As soon as the signal was
given she dived into the grass and was lost to sight,
while the stag cantered towards the mountains. After
going some distance, he stopped, thinking that there
would be no need to run further, as he imagined that
the snail was far behind and likely to have given up
the race; so he called out, “‘ Heigh, Mattah, art thou
coming ? ”
To his surprise, the voice of the snail answered close
beside him saying, “‘ I am here, I am here.” Thereupon
he ran on more swiftly, but after running several miles
he stopped again and called out as before, ‘‘ Heigh,
Mattah, art thou coming?” And again the voice
answered close to his heels, “‘I am here, I am here”’ ;
upon which the stag tore off at a terrific pace through
the forest, only stopping at intervals to call out to the
snail. As often as he called, the voice answered close to
84 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xv
his feet, “I am here, I am here,” which set him racing
with ever-increasing speed. When he reached the [ei
Tree Mountain, he was panting and quivering from his
great exertions and longed to lie down to rest, but he
saw before him the goal to which he was bound, and
spurred himself to a last effort. He was so exhausted
as he climbed up the slopes of Shillong that he was
giddy and faint, and could scarcely move his wearied
limbs, and, to his dismay, before he reached the summit,
he heard the tormenting voice of the snail calling out
from the goal, “‘ I have won, I have won.” .
Exhausted and defeated, the stag threw himeelf full
length on the ground, and his disappointment and the
sickness due to the terrible strain he had put on him-
self caused him to spit out his gall-bladder. To this
day n» gall-bladder is to be found in the anatomy of the
stag ; so he carries in his body the token of the great
defeat he sustained through the wiles of Ka Mattah,
the little grey snail, and the pathetic look has never
gone out of his eyes.
XVI
THE LEAP OF KA LIKAITI
* Tue Leap of Ka Likai ” is the name given to a beautiful
waterfall on the Khasi Hills, a few miles to the west
of Cherrapoonjee, which, at certain points, is visible
from great distances, while the roar and the echoes
of its waters are to be heard for miles. The view is
one of exceptional beauty, and many visitors are at-
tracted to see it. The clear chattering stream is seen
emerging from its wild mountain home, dashing over
the high precipice into the shadows of a deep gorge,
flinging upwards, as it falls, clouds of tremulous spray,
which wreathe and coil around majestic rocks, creating
countless small rainbows which dance and quiver in a
maze of palms and ferns and blossoming shrubs.
The place is so remote and so still, as if every sound
had been awed into a hush, except the thunderous boom
of the torrent with its distant echoes moaning and
shrieking like a spirit in anguish, that the whole
locality seems weird and uncanny, suggestive of terrible
possibilities. This, probably, accounts for the grue-
some tradition amongst the Khasis which has been
associated with this waterfall from time immemorial.
It runs as follows:
Once upon a time there lived a young married woman
85
86
FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS
THE LEAP OF KA LIKAL
XVI THE LEAP OF KA LIKAT 87
called Ka Likai, in the village of Rangjirteh, onthe hill
above the Falls. She and her husband lived very
happily together and rejoiced in the possession of a
baby girl of great beauty. The young husband died
when the child was still a babe, and from that time
Ka Likai’s whole heart became wrapped up in the child.
She found it very hard to earn enough money to
maintain them both, so she was persuaded to marry
again, thinking to have her own burden lightened, and
to obtain more comforts for her child.
The new husband was a selfish and a somewhat
brutal man; he was exceedingly jealous of his little
step-daughter, because his wife paid her so much atten-
tion, and when he found that he had been accepted
as a husband by Ka Likai merely for the benefit of
the child, he was so mortified that he grew to hate her
and determined to do her some mischief.
He became sulky in the home and refused to go out
to work, but he forced his wife to go every day, and
during her absence he bullied and ill-treated the child.
One day Ka Likai had to go on a long journey to carry
iron ore, and this gave the cruel stepfather the oppor-
tunity he sought to carry out his evil purpose, and he ©
killed the child. So depraved had he become and so
demoniacal was his hatred, that he determined to
inflict even a worse horror upon his wife; he took
portions of the body and cooked them against the
mother’s return, and waited in silence for her coming.
When Ka Likai reached her home in the evening,
she was surprised to find her husband in a seemingly
kinder mood than he had shown for a long time, having
cooked her supper and set it ready for her, with unusual
consideration. She noticed the absence of the child,
88 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XVI
and immediately asked where she was, but the man’s
plausible answer that she had just gone out to play
dispelled every misgiving, and she sat down to eat
without a suspicion of evil.
After finishing her supper, she drew forward the
betel-nut basket to prepare betel and pan to chew,
according to custom after a meal. It happened that.
one of the hands of the murdered girl had been left
by the stepfather in this basket, and the mother at
once saw and recognised it. She wildly demanded the
meaning of the awful discovery, whereupon the man
confessed his crime, and also told her how she herself
had eaten of the flesh of her own child.
The terrible and overwhelming revelation took away
the mother’sreason. She rose distractedly, and, running
to the edge of the precipice, threw herself into the abyss.
Ever since then the Falls have been called “‘ The Leap
of Ka Likai,” and the doleful moans of their echoes
are said to be the echoes of Ka Likai’s anguished cries.
To this day, when widows with children are con-
templating second marriages, they are cautioned to
be careful and to use judgement, with the warning,
“Remember Ka Likai.”
XVII
WHAT CAUSED THE SHADOWS ON
THE MOON
In the early ages there lived a family of deities, con-
sisting of a mother and four children—three daughters
and one son. They lived very happily for many long
years, the children showing great respect to their
mother and to one another. Their names were Ka
Um (Water), Ka Ding (Fire), and Ka Sngi (the Sun),
-and the boy was called U Bnai (the Moon). They were
all very noble and beautiful to look upon, as became
their high destiny, but it was universally agreed that
Ka Sngi and U Bnai, the two youngest, possessed greater
beauty and loveliness than the two elder sisters. In
those days the moon was equal to the sun in brightness
and splendour.
When U Bnai grew up he began to show somewhat
wayward tendencies ; he came and went at his own will,
without consulting his mother or his sisters, and con-
sorted with companions far beneath him in rank. Some-
times he would absent himself from home for many
days, and none of his family knew whither he wandered.
His mother often remonstrated with him, as is right
for every mother to do, and she and his sisters
endeavoured to guide him into more decorous habits,
89
90 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS .-. =‘ xvn
but he was wilful and self-indulgent, thinking that he
had a right to more liberty than his women-folk allowed
him. By degrees he abandoned himself to a life of
_ pleasure and wild pursuits, paying no heed to the advice
and warnings of his elders. .
Once he followed some of his low associates into the
nether regions and spent a long time in that land of
goblins and vice. After a while his thoughts came
back to his family and his erstwhile radiant home,
and a longing to see them came over him, so he quitted _
the nether regions, and left his evil companions, and
returned to his home and his kindred. .
He had gazed so long on the hideous faces of the
inhabitants of the dark world, that he was dazzled by
the beauty of his sister Ka Sngi, who came to meet him
with smiles and joy for his return. He had also lost
the right perception of duty and honour, and, instead of
greeting her as his sister, he went to his mother and
with unbrotherly wantonness demanded the hand of Ka
Sngi in marriage, saying that he had travelled through- —
out many worlds, and had seen the sons of all nations,
but there was no suitor to be found in the whole universe
whose beauty could match that of Ka Sngi, except
himself. Consequently he said that it behoved his
mother to give countenance to his suit and to arrange
the marriage.
This caused the mother much grief, and she dismissed
her son from her presence in dishonour. Ka Sngi, when
she heard of his design, was enraged because df his
unchaste proposal, and in anger she went forth to seek
her brother. When she found him she forgot her
usual dignity and decorum, and, lifting a handful of
hot ashes, she threw it into U Bnai’s face. The ashes
xvn THE SHADOWS ON THE MOON 91
scorched his flesh so deeply that the marks have
remained on his face to this day. Ever since then the
light of the moon has been pale, marred by dark
shadows, and that is the reason he does not show his
face in the day-time.
XVIII
U KSUID TYNJANG
Tue Ancient Khasis were wont to people all their
beautiful hills and forests with innumerable super-
natural beings, who were supposed to be working in
the world either for good or for evil, and dominating
all the events of men’s lives. There were Blets (gods)
of all grades, and Ksuzds (demons or goblins) without
number, and Puris (sprites or fairies), visible and in-
visible, to be encountered everywhere. The religious
observances of the Khasis are mainly intended to fulfil
obligations supposed to be imposed upon them by these
imaginary beings, who are described as quick to take
offence and difficult to appease; hence the many and
complicated ceremonies which the Khasi religion
demands.
One of the most familiar names in ancient lore is
that of U Ksuid Tynjang, a deformed and lame demon
who haunted the forests and tormented mankind,
and for his misdeeds had been doomed to suffer from.
an incurable and loathsome itching disease, which could
only be allayed by the touch of a human hand. All
the stories related of this repulsive demon are concerned
with his forbidding personality and the tortures he
inflicted on the victims he captured purposely to force
92
xvm U KSUID TYNJANG 93
them to rub his body and relieve the terrible itching
to which he had been doomed. He used to tickle
them to death with his deformed and claw-like hands
if they tried to desist from their sickening task.
To lure people into his grasp, he used to imitate the
human voice and to shout “‘ Kaw-hoit, Kaw-hoit !” the
common signal-cry of people who lose their companions
or their way—a cry to which all humane travellers
THE REPUTED HAUNT OF U KSUID TYNJANG.
quickly respond, for it is considered equivalent to
murder to ignore the signal-cry without going to the
rescue. In this way U Ksuid Tynjang was able to
locate the whereabouts of lonely wanderers, and thither
he would direct his unsteady steps, skipping and
hobbling through the jungle, until he came up to them
and made them his captives.
In those days a great fair was periodically held at
the foot of the Hills, and to this the Khasis from all over
94 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XVII
the country were wont to resort, especially the younger
folk, who were fond of pleasure and liked to see the
show of fine cloths brought there for sale. It happened
that two young sisters from the Hills, Ka Thei and
Ka Duh, with their brother, attended one of these fairs
in the company of some of their neighbours. It was
their first visit to a fair, and they were so taken up with
the wonders of it that they forgot all about the time,
and walked to and fro, gazing at the strange people
and wares, until unconsciously they drifted away from
their friends. It was now growing late, and Ka Thei,
the eldest sister, anxiously bade the others cling to her
that they might retrace their steps and if possible find
their companions ; but although they walked from one
end of the fair to the other, they met nobody they knew.
By this they were in great dismay, and they determined
to start.for home as fast as they could, hoping to over-
take their friends on the way. Evidently every one
was far ahead, for though they walked very fast and
called out at intervals, they saw no signs of a friend
and heard no response, and by the time they reached
the Shillong forests, when they were yet some miles
from home, night closed upon them, and they lost their
way in the dense dark jungle. It was hopeless to try
and proceed further, for the path could not be traced
in the darkness, so the three timid young travellers sat
down, footsore and forlorn, crushed down with fore-
boding and fear.
Just then they heard a loud cry in the distance,
Kaw-hoit ! and they all thought it was the cry of one of
their friends signalling to them, and the three shouted
back in chorus Kaw-hoit / and waited expectantly for
some one to appear. To their horror they saw approach-
xvur ' _-_ J KSUID TYNJANG 95
ing, not a friend as they had expected, but the deformed
and diseased figure of a hideous Kswd, upon which
they realised that they had responded to the mimic-
cry of U Ksuid Tynjang, whom they had often heard
described, and against answering whose call they had
often been warned. |
In a few moments he was with them, and peremptorily
he ordered them to rub his itching body with their
hands. Although they sickened at the contact, they
knew better than to disobey, for U Ksuid Tynjang was
known to be very cruel, tickling to death those who
dared to disobey him.
It happened that the young brother escaped being
seen by the demon, a fact which Ka Thei hoped might
turn to their advantage, for she had an alert and a
resourceful mind. She motioned to him to squat down
on the ground, and she hastily took off. the knup (leaf
umbrella) hanging from her shoulders, and covered him
with it. :
Soothed by the touch of the young maidens’ hands,
the Kswid began to dosé. With a little contrivance,
Ka Thei succeeded in approaching her brother, quickly
stuck some shrubs in the knup, to make it look like the
surrounding jungle, and whispered to him to crawl
away as soon as the dawn broke, and seek the path
to their village to carry the news of their fate to their
parents, and bid them offer sacrifices to the god of
Shillong, in whose territory they had been captured, for
their deliverance. With the help of the shrub-covered
knup the boy got away at dawn unobserved, and reached
his home, whereupon his parents offered sacrifices to
U ’Lei Shillong for the deliverance of their daughters.
Whenever the Ksuid fell asleep the sisters were able
96 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xvin
to take turns at their unpleasant task. In order to
lighten their lot somewhat, they planned to kindle a
fire for the following night, and they collected dry
sticks and made ready; when night fell they kindled
the fire and felt less afraid. During the night, Ka Duh,
in putting some fresh wood on the fire, found a large,
heavy dao—an axe-knife—of iron which she showed to
her sister, who at once took it as an augury that deliver-
ance was forthcoming, and that the god of Shillong
was working for them. She at once began to think
of a plan whereby the dao might be useful to break
the spell of the demon and to free her sister and herself
from his power. She heated the thick blade red-hot
while the Kswed slumbered, and, taking it by the handle,
she seared his body with the hot iron, so that he died.
Such, however, is the tenacity of all Ksuids that,
even when they are killed and die, they do not go out
of existence. U Ksuid Tynjang could no longer resume
the form of a demon as he had formerly done, but he
could assume some other form and remain in his old
haunts. The form he chose was that of a jiurmi—a
creeper of a tough and tenacious nature which entangles
the feet of hunters when they run in the chase, and
saps the life out of the forest trees, and destroys the
plants cultivated by mankind. This plant is known to
this day as the Tynjang creeper.
XIX
WHAT MAKES THE LIGHTNING
In the early days of the world, when the animals frater-
nised with mankind, they tried to emulate the manners
and customs of men, and they spoke their language.
Mankind held a great festival every thirteen moons,
where the strongest men and the handsomest youths
danced “‘ sword dances’”’ and contested in archery and
other noble games, such as befitted their race and their
tribe as men of the Hills and the Forests—the oldest and
the noblest of all the tribes.
The animals used to attend these festivals and enjoyed
watching the games and the dances. Some of the younger
and more enterprising among them even clamoured for
a similar carnival for the animals, to which, after a time,
the elders agreed; so it wae decided that the animals
should appoint a day to hold a great feast.
After a period of practising dances and learning
games, U Pyrthat, the thunder giant, was sent out with
his big drum to summon all the world to the festival.
The drum of U Pyrthat was the biggest and the loudest
of all drums, and could be heard from the most remote
corner of the forest ; consequently a very large multi-
tude came together, such as had never before been seen
at any festival.
97 H
98 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xIXx
The animals were all very smartly arrayed, each one
after his or her own taste and fashion, and each one
carrying some weapon of warfare or a musical instrument,
according to the part he intended to play in the festival.
There was much amusement when the squirrel came up,
beating on a little drum as he marched; in his wake
came the little bird Shakyllia, playing on a flute, followed
by the porcupine marching to the rhythm of a pair of
small cymbals.
Every one was exceedingly merry—they joked and
poked fun at one another, in great glee: some of the
animals laughed so much on that feast day that they
have never been able to laugh since. The mole was
there, and on looking up he saw the owl trying to dance,
swaying as if she were drunk, and tumbling against all
sorts of obstacles, as she could not see where she was
going, at which he laughed so heartily that his eyes
became narrow slits and have remained so to this day.
When the merriment was at its height U Kui, the
lynx, arrived on the scene, displaying a very handsome
silver sword which he had procured at great expense to
make a show at the festival. When he began to dance
and to brandish the silver sword, everybody applauded.
He really danced very gracefully, but so much approba-
tion turned his head, and he became very uplifted, and
began to think himself better than all his neighbours.
Just then U Pyrthat, the thunder giant, happened to
look round, and he saw the performance of the lynx and
admired the beauty of the silver sword, and he asked to
have the handling of it for a short time, as a favour,
saying that he would like to dance a little, but had
brought no instrument except his big drum. This was
not at all to U Kui’s liking, for he did not want any one
4
xx WHAT MAKES THE LIGHTNING 99
but himself to handle his fine weapon ; but all the animals
began to shout as if with one voice, saying “‘ Shame! ”
for showing such discourtesy to a guest, and especially
to the guest by whose kindly offices the assembly had
been summoned together; so U Kui was driven to
yield up his silver sword.
As soon as U Pyrthat got possession of the sword he
began to wield it with such rapidity and force that it
flashed like leaping flame, till all eyes were dazzled almost
to blindness, and at the same time he started to beat on
his big drum with such violence that the earth shook
and trembled and the animals fled in terror to hide in
the jungle.
During the confusion U Pyrthat leaped to the sky,
taking the lynx’s silver sword with him, and he is
frequently seen brandishing it wildly there and beating
loudly on his drum. In many countries people call
these manifestations “thunder ”’ and “lightning,” but
the Ancient Khasis who were present at the festival
knew them to be the stolen sword of the lynx. |
U Kui was very disconsolate, and has never grown
reconciled to his loss. It is said of him that he has
never wandered far from home since then, in order to
live near a mound he is trying to raise, which he
hopes will one day reach the sky. He hopes to climb
to the top of it, to overtake the giant U Pyrthat, and
to seize once more his silver sword.
XX
THE PROHIBITED FOOD
WHEN mankind first came to live upon the earth, the
Great God saw fit to walk abroad in their midst fre-
quently, and permitted them to hold converse with Him
on matters pertaining to their duties and their welfare.
At one time the discourse turned on the terrible conse-
quences of disobedience, which caused punishment to
fall, not only on the transgressor himself, but upon the
entire human race also.
The man could not comprehend the mystery and
sought for enlightenment from God, and in order to
help him to understand, the Great God said unto him,
‘Do thou retire for seven days to meditate upon this
matter; at the end of the seven days I will again
visit the earth; seek me then and we will discourse
further. In the meantime go into the forest and hew
down the giant tree which I point out to thee, and
on thy peril beware of cutting down any other trees.’’
And He pointed out a large tree in the middle of the
forest.
Thereupon the Great God ascended into heaven, and
the man went forth to meditate and to cut down the
giant tree, as he had been commanded.
At the expiration of seven days the man came to the
100
xx THE PROHIBITED: ROOD: -.101
appointed place and the Great God came to ‘him. He
questioned him minutely about his work and his medita-
tions during the week of retirement, but the man had
gained no further knowledge nor received any new light.
So the Great God, to help him, began to question him.
Their discourse was after this manner :
“‘ Hast thou cut down the tree as thou wert com-
manded ? ”
“* Behold, its place is empty, I have cut 1t down.”
*“‘Didst thou observe the command in all things ?
Didst thou abstain from cutting down any of the other
trees ?”’
“I abstamed from cutting down any other trees ;
only the one that was pointed out to me have I cut
down.”
‘What are all these trees and shrubs that I see
scattered about ? ”
‘* These were broken and uprooted by the weight of
the great tree as it fell.”
“Behold, here are some trees that have been cut
down with an axe; how did this happen ? ”’
“* The jungle was so thick I could not reach the giant
tree without first cutting a path for myself.”’
** That is true ; therefore learn from this parable, man
is so great that, if he falls into transgression, others must
suffer with him.”
But the man still marvelled, and his mind remained
dark. The Great God, in His long-sufierance, told him
to ponder further upon the parable of the giant tree. So
the Great God walked abroad for a time and man was
left alone to ponder. When He returned He found the
man still puzzled and unable to comprehend ; and once
again He questioned him.
102 HOLE-TALRS. OF: THE KHASIS xx
“s What took place i in My absence ? ”
** Nothing of importance that I can think of.”’
** ‘Why didst thou cry out as if in pain ?”’
“It was for a very trivial cause; an ant bit me in
my heel.”
‘* And what didst thou do ?”
“T took a stone and killed the ant and the whole
nest of ants.”
** This also is a parable; because one ant bit thee
the whole nest was destroyed. Man is the ant; if man
transgresseth he and all his race must suffer.”’
Yet the man comprehended not: whereupon the
Great God granted him another seven days to retire
and to meditate upon the parables of the giant tree and
the ant.
Again the man came to the appointed place at the
end of seven days’ seeking to receive fuller knowledge
and understanding. The Great God had not yet ap-
peared, so the man took a walk in the forest to await
His coming. As he wandered aimlessly about, he met a
stranger carrying a small net in his hand out of which
he was eating some food. Now this stranger was a
demon, but the man did not know it.
** Where art thou going ? ’’ asked the stranger affably
after the manner of the country.
* Just to walk for my pleasure,” replied the man ;
“‘ what food art thou eating ? ”’
“Only some cakes of bread which I find very
tasty ; take some and eat.”’ And he passed the net to
him
“‘ Thy offer is kindly made, but do not take it amiss
that I refuse to accept thy bread, for it is decreed that
we shall live on rice alone.”’
xx THE PROHIBITED FOOD . 103
“* Even so, but surely to take a morsel to taste would
not be wrong.”’
This time the man did not resist, but accepted a
cake of bread and ate it with enjoyment, after which the
stranger departed, taking his bag of cakes with him.
The man had scarcely swallowed the strange food
when he heard the voice of the Great God calling unto
him from the skies, saying :
“What hast thou done, oh man? Thou knowest
the decree that rice was provided to be thy food, yet thou
hast unmindfully transgressed and partaken of the strange
food of the tempter. Henceforth thou and thy race shall
be tormented by the strange being whose food thou hast
eaten. By eating his food thou hast given him dominion
over thee and over thy race, and to escape from his
torments thou and thy race must give of thy substance
to appease him and to avert his wrath.”
Thus, too late, the man began to understand, and
ever since then the days of men have been full of sorrow
because man yielded to the tempter’s voice instead of
submitting to the decrees of the Great God.
XXIT
THE COOING OF THE DOVES
Or all the birds there are none that keep themselves
more separate than the doves. They do not peck at
other birds as the crows and the vultures do, but, on
restless foot and wing, they quickly withdraw them-
selves from every presuming neighbour.
The Ancient Khasis say that at one time the doves
sang like other birds, and the following story tells how
they ceased their singing and came to express their
feelings in the plaintive ‘‘ Coo-oo0 ” for which they are
noted throughout the world. |
Once a family of doves lived very happily in the forest,
and its youngest member was a beautiful female called
Ka Paro. Her parents and all the family were very
indulgent to her, and never permitted her to risk the
danger of the grain-fields until they had ascertained
that there were no hunters or wild beasts likely to attack
her ; so Ka Paro used to stay in the shelter of her home
until they gave a signal that the land was safe and clear.
One day, while waiting for the signal, she happened
to go up into a tall tree on which there were clusters of
luscious red berries growing. As the doves usually
subsisted on grain, Ka Paro did not pay much attention
to the berries ; she sat on a branch, preening her feathers
and watching other birds who came to pick them.
104
XXxI THE COOING OF THE DOVES 105
By and by there came a smart young Jylleit (a
jungle bird with gorgeous green and gold feathers) who
perched to pick berries upon the very branch on which
Ka Paro sat. She had never seen such a beautiful bird,
and to please him she sang to him one of her sweetest
songs. U Jylleit was quickly attracted by the sweet
voice and the gentle manners of the dove, and a pleasant
intimacy grew between the two. Ka Paro came to that
tree to preen her feathers and to sing every day, while
the Jylleit admired her and picked the berries.
After a time U Jylleit sent to the dove’s parents to
ask her in marriage. Although their young daughter
pressed them hard to give their consent, the parents were
wise, and did not want to trust the happimess of their
pet child to a stranger until they had time to test his
worth; they knew too that marriages between alien
tribes were scarcely ever a success. So, to test the
constancy of the young suitor, they postponed the
martiage till the winter, and with that the lovers had to
be content. The parents remembered that the berries
would be over by the winter, and it remained to be
seen whether the Jylleit would be willing to forgo his
luxuries and to share the frugal food of the doves, or
whether he would fly away to some other forests where
berries were to be found. Ka Paro was so much in love
that she was very confident of the fidelity of her suitor,
but to her sorrow, as soon as the berries were finished,
U Jylleit flitted away without even a word of farewell,
and she never saw him again.
From that time Ka Paro ceased to sing. She could
only utter the longing and sorrow that was in her heart
in sad and plaintive notes, so the doves are cooing sadly
even in their happiest moments.
XXII |
HOW THE MONKEY’S COLOUR BECAME GREY
In olden times the monkeys had long hair of different
colours covering their bodies, and they were much
more handsome than they are in the present day.
They were very inquisitive animals and liked to meddle
in the affairs of other people, and they caused a lot
of trouble in the world. ;
One day a monkey wandering on the plains met
Ram, the god of the Hindus, searching for the goddess
Sita. Ram, thinking that the monkey by his inquisitive-
ness and audacity might help to find her, bribed him
to come to his service.
After making enquiries far and near, the monkey
heard at last that Ka Sita was confined in a fort in the
island of Ceylon, so he went and told the god Ram.
Thereupon Ram gathered together a great host to go
and fight the king of the island of Ceylon, but they
found the place mfested with dragons and goblins of
the most hostile disposition, so that they dared not
venture to land.
The hosts of Ram then held a consultation, and they
decided that, as the monkey had been the cause of their
coming there, he must find out a way for them to land
without being destroyed by the dragons. The monkey,
106
Xx THE MONKEY’S COLOUR 107
not knowing what to say, suggested that they should
burn down the forests of Ceylon so that the dragons
could have no place to hide.
Upon this the hosts of Ram declared that the monkey
himself must go over to put his plan into execution.
So they dipped a long piece of cloth in oil and tied one
end of it to the monkey’s tail and set fire to the other
end of it, and the monkey went over to the island and
ran hither and thither dragging the flaming cloth behind
him and setting the forests on fire everywhere he went,
until all the forests of Ceylon were in flames.
Before he could get back to his companions he saw
with dismay that the cloth was nearly burnt out, and
the heat from the fire behind him began to singe his
long hair; whereupon, fearmg to be burnt alive, he
plunged into the sea and the flames were extinguished.
From that time the monkey’s hair has been grey and
short as a sign that he once set the forests of Ceylon
on fire.
XXIII
THE LEGEND OF KA PANSHANDI, THE
LAZY TORTOISE
ONCE upon a time there lived a young tortoise near
a large pool. She was very ill-favoured and ugly in
appearance and very foolish, as well as being of a lazy
disposition, and, like all lazy people, she was slovenly
and dirty in her habits. Her name was Ka Panshandi.
The pool near which she lived being very clear, the
stars and other heavenly bodies often gazed into it to
behold their own images. At times the reflection of
. countless shining, blinking stars would be visible in the
placid waters till the pool looked like a little part of the
sky. Atsuch times Ka Panshandi took immense delight
in plunging into the pool, darting backwards and for-
wards and twirling round the bright silvery spots with
great glee and contentment.
Among those who came frequently to gaze at them-
selves in the pool was U Lurmangkhara, the brightest
of all the stars; he began to notice the playful gambols
of Ka Panshandi in the water and to admire her twirling
motions. He lived so far away that he could not see her
ugliness, nor could he know that she was lazy and foolish.
All he knew was that she exposed herself nightly to
the chilly waters of the pool in order (as he thought)
108
xxm THE LEGEND OF KA PANSHANDI = 109
to have the pleasure of being near the images of the
stars, which was very flattering to his vanity. If she
was so strongly attracted by their images, he thought
to himself, how much more would she adore the
real live stars if she were brought into contact with
them.
U Lurmangkhara fell deeply in love with her, and
determined to go down to the earth to marry her and
to endow her with all his wealth, for he was very rich
and had always lived in great splendour.
When his relations and friends heard of his purpose,
they were much disturbed, and they came to remonstrate
with him against what they considered to be a very
rash and risky step—to go to a foreign land to make
his home and to mate with an unknown consort whose
habits and outlook on life might be altogether alien to
him. But U Lurmangkhara would listen to no counsel.
Persons in love never take heed of other people’s advice.
Down to the earth he came, and there married Ka
Panshandi and endowed her with all his wealth.
When Ka Panshandi found herself a rich wife, having
unexpectedly won one of the noblest husbands in the
world, her vanity knew no bounds, and she grew more
indolent and idle than ever. Her house was squalid,
and she minded not when even her own body was
daubed with mud, and she felt no shame to see her
husband’s meals served off unscoured platters. U
Lurmangkhara was very disappointed; being patient
and gentle, he tried by kind words to teach his wife to
amend her ways, but it was of no avail. Gradually
he grew discontented and spoke angrily to her, but she
remained as callous and as indifferent as ever, for it is
easier to turn even a thief from stealing than to induce
110 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXII
a sluggard to renounce his sloth. He threatened to
leave her, her neighbours also repeatedly warned her
that she would lose her good husband unless she altered
her ways, but she remained as unconcerned as ever.
At last, driven to despair, U Lurmangkhara gathered
together all his wealth and went back to his home in
the sky.
Ka Panshandi was filled with remorse and grief
when she found that her husband had departed. She
called piteously after him, promising to reform if he
would only return, but it was too late. He never came
back, and she was left to her squalor and her shame.
To this day Ka Panshandi is still hoping to see
U Lurmangkhara coming back to the earth, and she
is seen crawling about mournfully, with her neck out-
stretched towards the sky in expectation of his coming,
but there is no sign of his return, and her life is dull
and joyless.
After these events Ka Panshandi’s name became a
mockery and a proverb in the land ;_ ballads were sung
setting forth her fate as a warning to lazy and thrift-
less wives. To the present day a forsaken wife who
entertains hope of her husband’s return is likened by
the Khasis to Ka Panshandi in her expectant attitude
with her head lifted above her shell: “Ka Panshands
dem-lor-khah.”
XXIV
THE IDIOT AND THE HYNDET BREAD
Lone, long ago there lived on the Khasi Hills a certain
widow with her only son, a lad possessed of great
personal beauty, who was mentally deficient, and was
known in the village as ‘‘ U Bieit” (the idiot).
The mother, being very poor and having neither —
kith nor kin to help her, was obliged to go out to work
every day to support herself and her hapless child, so
he was left to his own devices, roaming at large in the
village. In this way he grew up to be very troublesome
to his neighbours, for he often broke into their houses
to forage for something to eat and caused much damage
and loss. :
Like most people of weak intellect, U Bieit showed
wonderful cunning in some directions, especially in the
matter of procuring some good thing to eat, and the
way he succeeded in duping some of his more sagacious
comrades in order to obtain some dainty tit-bits of food
was a matter of much amusement and merriment.
But there were so many unpleasant incidents that
people could not safely leave their houses, and matters
at last became so serious that the widow was ordered
to leave the village on his account.
She sought admission into many of the surrounding
lll
112 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXIV
villages, but the fame of U Bieit had travelled before
him and no one was willing to let them dwell in their
midst. So in great distress she took him down to the
plains, where there was a big river along which many
boats used to sail. Here she mournfully determined
to abandon him, hoping that some of the wealthy
merchants who often passed that way might be attracted
by his good looks and take him into their company.
She gave him some rice cakes to eat when he should be
hungry, and told him to be a good boy and stay by the
river-side, and she would bring him more cakes next day.
The boy thoroughly appreciated the promise of more
cakes, so was quite willing to be left by the river, but
he felt lonely and uncomfortable in his strange sur-
. roundings after his mother had gone, and whenever a
boat came in sight he ran into the thickets to hide.
By and by a large boat was seen approaching with great
white sails, which frightened him greatly and sent him
running into a thicket with all his might. It happened
that a wealthy merchant was returning from a journey,
and landed to take food close to the hiding-place of
U Bieit. The servants were going backward and
forward into the boat while preparing their master’s
food, and, fearing lest some of them might tamper with
his chest of gold nuggets, he ordered them to carry
it ashore, and buried it in the sands close to where
he sat.
Just as he finished his repast a heavy shower came
on, and the merchant hurried to the shelter of his boat ;
in his haste he forgot all about the chest of gold buried
in the sands, and the boat sailed away without it.
All this time the idiot boy was watching the proceed-
ings with great curiosity and a longing to share the
xxv THE IDIOT AND HYNDET BREAD 113
tempting meal, but fear of the boat with white sails
kept him from showing himself. However, as soon as
the boat was out of sight, he came out of the thicket
and began to unearth the buried chest. When he saw
the gold nuggets he thought they were some kind of
cakes, and, putting one in his mouth, he tried to eat it.
Finding it so hard, he decided that it must have been
unbaked, and his poor marred mind flew at once to his
mother, who always baked food for him at home, and,
taking the heavy chest on his back, he started through
the forest to seek her, and his instinct, like that of a
homing pigeon, brought him safely to his mother’s door.
It was quite dark when he reached the village, so
that nobody saw him, but his mother was awake crying
and lamenting her own hard fate which had driven
her to desert her unfortunate child. As she cried she
kept saying to herself that if only she possessed money
she could have obtained the goodwill of her neighbours
and been permitted to live with her boy in the village.
She was surprised to hear sounds of shuffling at her
door resembling the shuffling of her forsaken boy ; she
got up hurriedly to see who it was, and was relieved and
joyful to find him come back to her alive.
She marvelled when she saw him carrying a heavy
chest on his shoulders, and she could get but little light
from his incoherent speech as to how he had obtained
possession of it, but her eyes glittered with delight when
she saw that it was full of gold nuggets. She allowed
the lad to keep his delusion that they were cakes, and
to pacify him she took some rice and made some savoury
cakes for him, pretending that she was baking the
strange cakes from the chest. After eating these, he
went to sleep satisfied and happy.
I
114. FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xXxIV
Now the widow had been longing for gold all her life
long, saying that she wanted it to provide better comforts
for the son who could not look after himself, but the
moment the gold came into her possession her heart
was filled with greed. Not only was she not willing to
part with any of the nuggets to obtain the favour of
the villagers for her son, but she was planning to send
him abroad again to search for more gold, regardless
of the perils to which he would be exposed. She called
him up before daybreak, and, giving him some rice cakes
in a bag, she told him to go again to the river-side and
to bring home more boxes of cakes for her to bake.
So the boy started out on his fruitless errand, but
soon lost his way in the jungle; he could find the path
neither to the river nor to his mother’s house, so he
wandered about disconsolate and hungry in the dense
woods, searching for hidden chests and unbaked cakes.
In that forest many fairies had their haunts, but
they were invisible to mankind. They knew all about
the idiot boy and his sad history, and a great pity
welled up in their hearts when they saw how the lust
for gold had so corrupted his mother’s feelings that she
sent him alone and unprotected into the dangers of
that great forest. They determined to try and induce
him to accompany them to the land of the fairies,
where he would be guarded from all harm and where
willing hands would minister to all his wants.
So seven of the fairies transformed themselves into
the likeness of mankind and put on strong wings like
the wings of great eagles, and came to meet U Bieit
in the jungle. By this he had become exhausted with
want of food, and as soon as he saw the fairies he called
out eagerly to ask if they had any food, to which they
xxv THE IDIOT AND HYNDET BREAD 115
replied that they had only some Hyndet bread (kpu
Hyndet) which had been baked by the fairies in heaven ;
and when they gave him some of it, he ate it ravenously
and held out his hand for more. This was just what
the fairies wanted, for no human being can be taken to
fairyland except of his own free will. So they said
that they had no more to give in that place, but if he
liked to come with them to the land of the fairies beyond
the Blue Realm, he could have abundance of choice
food and Hyndet cakes. He expressed his readiness
to go at once, and asked them how he should get there.
They told him to take hold of their wings, to cling
firmly, and not to talk on the way; so he took hold of
the wings of the fairies and the ascent to fairyland began.
Now as they flew upwards there were many beautiful .
sights which gave the fairies great delight as they passed.
They.saw the glories of the highest mountains, and the
endless expanse of forest and waters, and the fleeting
shadows of the clouds, and the brilliant colours of the
rainbow, dazzlmg in their transient beauty. But the
idiot boy saw nothing of these things ; his simple mind
was absorbed in the one thought—food. When they
had ascended to a great height and the borders of
fairyland came into view, U Bieit could no longer.repress
his curiosity, and, forgetting all about the caution not
to speak, he asked the fairies eagerly, “‘ Will the Hyndet
cakes be big?” As soon as he uttered the words he
lost his hold on the fairies’ wings and, falling to the
earth with great velocity, he died.
The Khasis relate this story mainly as a warning not
to impose responsible duties on persons incapable of
performing them, and not to raise people into high
positions which they are not fitted to fill.
XXV
U RAMHAH
WHERE is the country without its giant-story ?
All through the ages the world has revelled in tales
of the incomparable prowess and the unrivalled strength
and stature of great and distinguished men whom we
have learned to call giants. We trace them from the
days of Samson and Goliath, past the Knights of Arthur
in the “Island of the Mighty ’’ and the great warriors
of ancient Greece, down to the mythland of our nursery
days, where the exploits of the famous “‘ Jack ’’ and his
confederates filled us with wonder and awe. Our world
has been a world full of mighty men to whom all the
nations pay tribute, and the Khasis in their small corner
are not behind the rest of the world in this respect, for
they algo have on record the exploits of a giant whose
fate was as strange as that of any famous giant in history.
The name of the Khasi giant was U Ramhah. Helived
in a dark age, and his vision was limited, but according
to his lights and the requirements of his country and his
generation, he performed great and wonderful feats, such
as are performed by all orthodox giants all the world
over. He lifted great boulders, he erected huge pillars,
he uprooted large trees, he fought wild beasts, he
trampled on dragons, he overcame armed hosts single-
116
XXV U RAMHAH 117
handed, he championed the cause of the defenceless, and
won for himself praise and renown.
When his fame was at its height he smirched his
reputation by his bad actions. After the great victory
over U Thien in the cave of Pomdoloi, he became very
uplifted and proud, and considered himself entitled to
the possessions of the Khasis. So instead of helping and
defending his neighbours as of yore, he began to oppress
' and to plunder them, and came to be regarded as a
notorious highwayman, to be avoided and dreaded, who
committed thefts and crimes wherever he went.
At this period he is described as a very tall and power-
ful man whose stature reached “ half way to the sky,”
and he always carried a soop (a large basket of plaited
bamboo) on his back, into which he put all his spoils,
which were generally some articles of food or clothing.
He broke into houses, looted the markets and waylaid
travellers. The plundered people used to run after him,
clmging to his big soop, but he used to beat them and
sometimes kill them, and by reason of his great strength
and long strides he always got away with his booty,
leaving havoc and devastation behind him. He was so
strong and so terrible that no one could check his crimes
or impose any punishments. |
There lived in the village of Cherra in those days a
wealthy woman called Ka Bthuh, who had suffered much
and often at the hands of U Ramhah, and whose anger
against’ him burnt red-hot. She had pleaded urgently
with the men of her village to rise in a body to avenge
her wrongs, but they always said that it was useless.
Whenever she met U Ramhah she insulted him by
pointing and shaking her finger at him, saying, ‘‘ You
may conquer the strength of a man, but beware of the
118 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXV
cunning of a woman.” For this saying U Ramhah
hated her, for it showed that he had not been able to
overawe her as everybody else had been overawed by
him, and he raided her godowns more frequently than
ever, not dreaming that she was scheming to defeat him.
One day Ka Bthuh made a great feast; she sent
invitations to many villages far and near, for she wanted
it to be as publicly known as possible in order to lure
U Ramhah to attend. It was one of his rude habits to
go uninvited to feasts and to gobble up all the eatables
before the invited guests had been helped.
The day of Ka Bthuh’s feast came and many guests
arrived, but before the rice had been distributed there
was & loud cry that U Ramhah was marching towards
the village. Everybody considered this very annoying,
but Ka Bthuh, the hostess, pretended not to be dis-
turbed, and told the people to let the giant eat as much
as he liked first, and she would see that they were all
helped later on. At this U Ramhah laughed, think-
ing that she was beginning to be afraid of him, and he
helped himself freely to the cooked rice and curry that
was at hand. He always ate large mouthfuls, but at
‘feast times he used to put an even greater quantity of
rice into his mouth, just to make an impression and a
show. Ka Bthuh had anticipated all this, and she
stealthily put.into the rice some sharp steel blades which
the giant swallowed unsuspectingly.
When he had eaten to his full content U Ramhah
took his departure, and when he had gone out of earshot
Ka Bthuh told the people what she had done. They
marvelled much at her cunning, and they all said it was
a Just deed to punish one whose crimes were so numerous
and so flagrant, but who escaped penalty by reason of
xxv U RAMHAH 119
his great strength. From that time Ka Bthuh won great
praise and became famous.
U Ramhah never reached his home from that feast.
The sharp blades he had swallowed cut his intestines and
he died on the hill-side alone and unattended, as the wild
animals die, and there was no one to regret his death.
When the members of his clan heard of his death they
came in a great company to perform rites and to cremate
his body, but the body was so big that it could not
be cremated, and so they decided to leave it till the flesh
rotted, and to come again to gather together his bones.
After a long time they came to gather the bones, but it
was found that there was no urn large enough to contain
them, so they piled them together on the hill-side until
a large urn could be made.
While the making of the large urn was in progress
there arose a great storm, and a wild hurricane blew from
the north, which carried away the bleached bones of
U Ramhah, and scattered them all over the south
borders of the Khasi Hills, where they remain to this
day in the form of lime-rocks, the many winding caves
and crevices of which are said to be the cavities in the
marrowless bones of the giant. Thus U Ramhah, who
injured and plundered the Khasis in his life-time, became
the source of inestimable wealth to them after his death.
His name is heard on every hearth, used as a proverb
to describe objects of abnormal size or people of abnormal
strength.
XXVI
HOW THE CAT CAME TO LIVE WITH MAN:
In olden times Ka Miaw, the cat, lived in the jungle with
her brother the tiger, who was king of the jungle. She
was very proud of her high pedigree and anxious to
display the family greatness, and to live luxuriously
according to the manner of families of high degree ; but
the tiger, although he was very famous abroad, was not
at all mindful of the well-being and condition of his
family, and allowed them to be often in want. He
himself, by his skill and great prowess, obtained the most
delicate morsels for his own consumption, but as it
involved trouble to bring booty home for his household,
he preferred to leave what he did not want himself to
rot on the roadside, or to be eaten by any chance
scavenger. Therefore, the royal larder was often very
bare and empty.
Thus the cat was reduced to great privations, but so
jealous was she for the honour and good name of her
house that, to hide her poverty from her friends and
neighbours, she used to sneak out at night-time, when
nobody could see her, in order to catch mice and frogs
and other common vermin for food.
Once she ventured to speak to her brother on the
matter, asking him what glory there was in being king
120
xxvi HOW THE CAT LIVED WITH MAN 121
if his family were obliged to work and to fare lke
common folks. The tiger was so angered that she
never dared to approach the subject again, and she
continued to live her hard life and to shield the family
honour.
One day the tiger was unwell, and a number of his
neighbours came to enquire after his health. Desiring
to entertain them with tobacco, according to custom,
he shouted to his sister to light the hookah and to
serve it round to the company. Now, even in the most
ordinary household, it is very contrary to good breed-
ing to order the daughter of the house to serve the
hookah, and Ka Miaw felt the disgrace keenly, and,
hoping to excuse herself, she answered that there was
no fire left by which to light the hookah. This answer
displeased the tiger greatly, for he felt that his authority
was being flouted before his friends He ordered his
sister angrily to go to the dwelling of mankind to fetch
a firebrand with which to light the hookah, and, fearing
to be punished if she disobeyed, the cat ran off as
she was bidden and came to the dwelling of man-
kind.
Some little children were playing in the village, and .
when they saw Ka Miaw they began to speak gently to
her and to stroke her fur. This was so pleasant to her
feelings after the harsh treatment from her brother that
she forgot all about the firebrand and stayed to play
with the children, purring to show her pleasure.
Meanwhile the tiger and his friends sat waiting
impatiently for the hookah that never came. It was
considered a great privilege to draw a whiff from the
royal hookah; but seeing that the cat delayed her
return, the visitors took their departure, and showed a
122 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXVI
little sullenness at not receiving any mark of hospitality
in their king’s house.
The tiger’s anger against his sister was: very violent,
and, regardless of his ill-health, he went out in search of
her. Ka Miaw heard him coming, and knew from his
growl that he was angry; she suddenly remembered
her forgotten errand, and, hastily snatching a firebrand
from the hearth, she started for home.
Her brother met her on the way and began to abuse
her, threatening to beat her, upon which she threw down
the firebrand at his feet in her fright and ran back to
the abode of mankind, where she has remained ever
since, supporting herself as of old by catching frogs and
mice, and purring to the touch of little children.
XXVITI
HOW THE FOX GOT HIS WHITE BREAST
OncE a fox, whose name was U Myrsiang, lived in a cave
near the residence of a Siem (Chief). This fox was a very
shameless marauder, and had the impudence to conduct
his raids right into the Siem’s private barn-yard, and to
devour the best of his flocks, causing him much annoy-
ance and loss. :
The Siem gave his servants orders to catch U
Myrsiang, but though they laid many traps and snares
in his way he was so wily and so full of cunning that
he managed to evade every pitfall, and to continue his
raids on the Siem’s flocks.
One of the servants, more ingenious than his fellows,
suggested that they should bring out the iron cage in
which the Siem was wont to lock up state criminals,
and try and wheedle the fox into entering it. So they
brought out the iron cage and set it open near the en-
trance to the barn-yard, with a man on guard to watch.
By and by, U Myrsiang came walking by very
cautiously, sniffing the air guardedly to try and discover
if any hidden dangers lay in his path. He soon reached
the cage, but 1t aroused no suspicion in him, for it was so
large and so unlike every trap he was familiar with that
he entered it without a thought of peril, and ere he was
123
124 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXVII
aware of his error, the man on guard had bolted the door
behind him and made him a prisoner.
There was great jubilation in the Siem’s household
when the capture of the fox was made known. The Siem
himself was so pleased that he commanded his servants
to prepare a feast on the following day as a reward for
their vigilance and ingenuity. He also gave orders not
to kill the fox till the next day, and that he should be
brought out of the cage after the feast and executed
in a public place as a warning to other thieves and
robbers. So U Myrsiang was left to pine in his prison
for that night.
The fox was very unhappy, as all people in confine-
ment must be. He explored the cage from end to end
but found no passage of egress. He thought out many
plans of escape, but not one of them could be put into
execution, and he was driven to face the doom of certain
death. He whined in his misery and despair, and
roamed about the cage all night.
Some time towards morning he was disturbed by the
sounds of footsteps outside his cage, and, thinking that
the Siem’s men had come to kill him, he lay very still,
hardly venturing to breathe. To his relief the new-
comer turned out to be a belated traveller, who, upon
seeing a cage, sat down, leaning his weary body against
the bars, while U Myrsiang kept very still, not wishing
to disclose his presence until he found out something
more about his unexpected companion, and hoping also
to turn his coming to some good account.
The traveller was an outlaw driven away from a
neighbouring state for some offence, and was in great
perplexity how to procure the permission of the Siem
(into whose state he had now wandered) to dwell there
xxvil THE FOX’S BREAST 125
and be allowed to cultivate the land. Thinking that
he was quite alone, he began to talk to himself, not
knowing that a wily fox was listening attentively to all -
that he was saying.
““T am a most unfortunate individual,” said the
stranger. ‘“‘I have been driven away from my home
and people, I have no money and no friends, and no
belongings except this little polished mirror which no
one is likely to buy. I am so exhausted that if they
drive me out of this State again I shall die of starvation
on the roadside. If I could only find a friend who could
help me to win the favour of the Siem, so that I may be
permitted to live here unmolested for a time, till my
trouble blows over! ”’
U Myrsiang’s heart was beating very fast with
renewed hope when he heard these words, and he tried
to think of some way to delude the stranger to imagine
that he was some one who had influence with the Siem,
and to get the man to open the cage and let him out.
So with all the cunning he was capable of, he accosted .
the man in his most affable and courteous manner :
“Friend and brother,”’ he said, “‘do not despair. I
think I can put you in the way, not only to win the
Siem’s favour, but to become a member of his family.”
The outlaw was greatly embarrassed when he dis-
covered that some one had overheard him talking.
It was such a dark night he could not see the fox, but
thought that it was a fellow-man who had accosted him.
Fearing to commit himself further if he talked about
himself, he tried to divert the conversation away from
himself, and asked his companion who he was and what
he was doing alone in the cage at night.
The fox, nothing loth to monopolise the conversation,
126 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXVI
gave a most plausible account of his misfortunes, and his
tale seemed so sincere and apparently true that it con-
_. vinced the man on the instant.
“‘ There is great trouble in this State,’’*said U Myr-
siang. ‘‘ The only daughter of the Siem is sick, and
according to the divinations she is likely to die unless
she can be wedded before sunset to-morrow, and her
bridegroom must be a native of some other State. The
time was too short to send envoys to any of the neighbour-
ing States to arrange for the marriage, and as I happened
to pass this way on a journey, the Siem’s men forcibly
detained me, on finding that I was a foreigner, and
to-morrow they will compel me to marry the Siem’s
daughter, which is much against my will. If you open
the door of this cage and let me out, you may become
the Siem’s son-in-law by taking my place in the cage.”
‘What manner of man are you,” asked the outlaw,
‘‘that you should disdain the honour of marrying the
daughter of a Siem ? ”
“You are mistaken to think that I disdain the
honour,” said the fox. ‘‘If I had been single I should
have rejoiced in the privilege, but I am married already,
and have a wife and family in my own village far from
here, and my desire is to be released so that I may return
to them.”’ |
“In that case,’ replied the man, “I think you are
right to refuse, but as for me it will be a most desirable
union, and I shall be only too glad to exchange places
with you.” |
Thereupon he opened the door of the cage and went
in, while U Myrsiang slipped out, and bolted the door
behind him.
The man was so pleased with his seeming good fortune
" xxvn THE FOX’S BREAST 127
that at parting he took off his polished mirror which was
suspended round his neck by a silver chain, and begged
his companion to accept it in remembrance of their
short but strange encounter. As he was handing it to
_U Myrsiang, his hand came into contact with the fox’s
thick fur, and he realised then that he had been duped,
and had, owing to his credulity, released the most thiev-
Ing rogue in the forest. Regrets were vain. He was firmly
imprisoned within the cage, while he heard the laughter
of U Myrsiang echoing in the distance as he hurried away
to safety, taking the polished mirror with him.
The fox was well aware that it was unsafe for him to .
remain any longer in that locality, so, after fastening the
mirror firmly round his neck, he hastened away with all
speed, and did not halt till he came to a remote and
secluded part of the jungle, where he stopped to take
his breath and to rest.
Unknown to U Myrsiang, a big tiger was lying in wait
for prey in that part of the jungle, and, upon seeing the
fox, made ready to spring upon him. But the fox, hear-
ing some noise, turned round suddenly, and by that
movement the polished mirror came right in front of the
tiger’s face. The tiger saw in it the reflection of his own
big jaws and flaming eyes, from which he slunk away in
terror, thinking that U Myrsiang was some great tiger-
demon haunting the jungle in the shape of a fox, and
from that time the tiger has never been known to attack
the fox.
One day, when hotly pursued by hunters, the fox
plunged into a deep river. As he swam across, the
flood carried away his polished mirror, but the stamp of
it remains to this day on his breast in the form of a
patch of white fur.
XXVIII
HOW THE TIGER GOT HIS STRENGTH
AFTER the animals were created they were sent to live
in the jungle, but they were so foolish that they got
into one another’s way and interfered one with another
and caused much inconvenience in the world. In order
to produce better order, the Blezs (gods) called together
a Durbar to decide on the different qualities with
which it would be well to endow the animals, so as to
make them intelligent and able to live in harmony with
one another. After this, mankind and all the animals
were summoned to the presence of the Blevs, and each
one was given such intelligence and sense as seemed
best to suit his might and disposition: the man received
beauty and wisdom, and to the tiger were given crafti-
ness and the power to walk silently.
When the man returned to his kindred, and his
mother beheld him, her heart was lifted with pride,
for she knew that the Bleis had given to him. the best
of their gifts, and that henceforth all the animals
would be inferior to him in beauty and intelligence.
Realising with regret that he had not received physical
strength equal to the beauty of his person, and that
consequently his life would be always in danger, she
told her son to go back to the Blevs to ask for the gift
of strength.
128
xxvam HOW THE TIGER GOT HIS STRENGTH 129
The man went back to the Bleis according to the
command of his mother, but it was so late when he
arrived that the Bleis were about.to retire. Seeing
that he was comelier than any of the animals and
possessed more wisdom, which made him worthy of the
gift of strength, they told him to come on the morrow
and they would bestow upon him the desired gift. The
man was dismissed till the following day, but he went
away happy in his mind, knowing that the Blews would
not go back on their word.
Now it happened that the tiger was roaming about
in that vicinity, and by reason of his silent tread he
managed to come unobserved near enough to hear the
Bleis and the man talking about the gift of strength.
He determined to forestall the man on the morrow,
and to obtain the gift of strength for himself; soon he
slunk away lest it should be discovered that he had
been listening.
Early on the following morning, before the Blevs had
come forth from their retirement, the tiger went to
their abode and sent in a messenger to say that he had
come according to their command to obtain the gift
of strength, upon which the Blers endowed him with
strength twelve times greater than what he had before
possessed, thinking that they were bestowing it upon
the man.
The tiger felt himself growing strong, and as soon
as he left the abode of the Blews, he leaped forward
twelve strides, and twelve strides upward, and so strong
was he that it was unto him but as one short stride.
Then he knew that he had truly forestalled the man,
and had obtained the gift of strength, and could over-
come men in battle.
K
130 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXVIII
Later in the day, in accordance with the command he
had received, the man set out for the abode of the Bleis,
but on the way the tiger met him and challenged him
to fight, and began to leap and bound upwards and
forwards to show how strong he was, and said that he
had received the “‘ twelve strengths ” and no one would
be able to withstand him. He was just about to spring
when the man evaded him, and ran away towards the
abode of the Blets. When he came there and presented |
himself before them, they asked him angrily, “ Why
dost thou come again to trouble us? We have already
given thee the gift of strength.” Then the man knew
that the tiger’s boast was true, and he told the Bless
of his encounter with the tiger on the way, and of his
boast that he had obtained the gift of strength. They
were greatly annoyed that deception had been practised
on them, but there is no decree by which to recall a
gift when once it has been bestowed by the Blets. They
looked upon the man with pity, and said that one so
beautiful and full of wisdom should not be left defence-
less at the mercy of the inferior animals. So they gave
unto him a bow and an arrow, and told him, “ When
the tiger attacks thee with his strength, shoot, and the
arrow will pierce his body and kill him. Behold, we
have given to thee the gift of skill to make and to use
weapons of warfare whereby thou wilt be able to combat
the lower animals.” |
Thus the tiger received strength, and man received
the gift of skill. The mother of mankind, when she
saw it, told her sons to abstain from using their weapons
against one another, but to turn them against the animals
only, according to the decree of the Blevs.
XXIX
WHY THE GOAT LIVES WITH MANKIND
In early times the goat lived in the jungle, leading a
free and independent life, like all the other animals.
The following story gives an account of her flight from
the animals to make her dwelling with Man.
One fine spring day, when the young leaves were
sprouting on the forest trees, Ka Blang, the goat, went
out in search of food. Her appetite was sharpened by
the delicious smell of the spring, which filled the air
and the forest, so, not being satisfied with grass, she
began to pluck the green leaves from a bush. While
she was busy plucking and eating, she was startled to
hear the deep growl of the tiger close beside her.
The tiger asked her angrily, “What art thou doing
there ?”
Ka Blang was so upset by this sudden interruption,
and in such fear of the big and ferocious beast, that she
began to tremble from head to foot, so that even her
beard shook violently, and she hardly knew what she
was doing or saying. In her fright she quavered :
““T am eating khla’’ (a tiger), instead of saying, “‘ I
am eating sla’’ (leaves). |
The tiger took this answer for insolence and became
very angry. He was preparing to spring upon her
131
132 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXIX
when he caught sight of her shaking beard, which
appeared to him like the tuft of hair on a warrior’s
lance when it is lifted against an enemy. He thought
that Ka Blang must be some powerful and savage
beast able to attack him, and he ran away from her
in terror.
Now Ka Blang, having an ungrateful heart, instead
of being thankful for her deliverance, grew discontented
with her lot, and began to grumble because she had not
been endowed with the strength attributed to her by
the tiger, and she went about bewailing her inferiority.
One day, in her wanderings, she climbed to the top
of an overhanging cliff, and there she lay down to chew
the cud, and, as usual, to dwell on her grievances. It
happened that the tiger was again prowling in the
same vicinity, but when he saw the goat approaching
he fled in fear, and hid himself under the very cliff on
to which she had climbed. There he lay very still, for
fear of betraying his presence to the goat, for he was
still under the delusion that she was a formidable and
mighty animal. Ka Blang, all unconscious of his
presence, began to grumble aloud, saying :
“‘T am the poorest and the weakest of all the beasts,
without any means of defence or strength to withstand
an attack. I have neither tusks nor claws to make
an enemy fear me. It is true that the tiger once ran
away from me because he mistook my beard for a sign.
of strength; but if he had only known the truth he
would have killed me on the instant, for even a small
deg could kill me if he clutched me by the throat.”
The tiger, beneath the rock, was listening to every
word, and, as he listened, his wrath was greatly kindled
to find that he had disgraced himself by running away
xux WHY THE GOAT LIVES WITH MAN 133
from such a contemptible creature, and he determined
now to avenge himself for that humiliation. He crept
stealthily from his hiding-place, and, ere she was aware
of his approach, Ka Blang was clutched by the throat
and killed. |
In order to restore his prestige, the tiger proclaimed
far and wide how he had captured and killed the goat,
and after that other tigers and savage beasts began
to hunt the goats, and there followed such a general
slaughter of goats that they were nearly exterminated.
Driven to great extremity, the few remaining goats
held a tribal council to consider how to save themselves
from the onslaughts of the tigers, but, finding themselves
powerless to offer any resistance, they determined to
apply to mankind for protection. When they came |
to him, Man said that he could not come to the jungle
to defend them, but they must come and live in his
village if they wished to be protected by him. So the
goats ran away from the jungle for ever, and came to
live with mankind.
XXX
HOW THE OX CAME TO BE THE SERVANT
OF MAN
WHEN mankind first came to live upon the earth, they
committed many blunders, for they were ignorant and
wasteful, not knowing how to shift for themselves, and
having no one to teach them. The Deity who was
watching their destinies saw their misfortunes and
pitied them, for he saw that unless their wastefulness
ceased they would perish of want when they multiplied
and became numerous in the world. So the Deity called
to him the ox, who was a strong and patient animal,
and sent him as a messenger to mankind, to bless them,
and to show them how to prosper.
The ox had to travel a long way in the heat, and was
much worried by the flies that swarmed round his path
and the small insects that clung to his body and sucked
his blood. Then a crow alighted on his back and
began to peck at the insects, upon which it loved to
feed ; this eased the ox greatly, and he was very pleased
to see the crow, and he told her where he was going,
as a messenger from the Deity to mankind.
The crow was very interested when she heard this,
and questioned him minutely about the message he
had been sent to deliver, and the ox told her all that
134
xxx HOW THE OX BECAME MAN’S SERVANT 135
he had been commanded to say to mankind—how he
was to give them the blessing of the Deity and to warn
them not to waste the products of the earth lest they
died of want. They must learn to be thrifty and careful
so that they might live to be old and wise, and they
were to boil only sufficient rice for each meal, so as not
to waste their food.
When the crow heard this she was much disturbed,
for she saw that there would be no leavings for the
crows if mankind followed these injunctions. So she
said to the ox, “ Will you repay my kindness to you
in destroying the insects that worry you by giving
a message like that to mankind to deprive me of my
accustomed spoil?’’ She begged of him to teach man-
kind to cook much rice always, and to ordain many
ceremonies to honour their dead ancestors by offering.
rice to the gods, so that the crows and the other birds
might have abundance to eat. Thus, because she had
eased his torments, the ox listened to her words, and
when he came to mankind he delivered only part of
the message of the Deity, and part of the message of
the crow.
When the time came for the ox to return, a great
fear overcame him as he approached the abode of the
Deity, for he saw that he had greatly trespassed and
that the Deity would be wrathful. In the hope of
obtaining forgiveness, he at once confessed his wrong-
doing, how he had been tempted by the crow, and had
delivered the wrong message. This confession did not
mitigate the anger of the Deity, for he arose, and, with
great fury, he struck the ox such a blow on the mouth
that all his upper teeth fell out, and another blow behind
the ribs which made a great hollow there, and he drove
136 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXX
the disobedient animal from his presence, to seek pasture
and shelter wherever he could find them.
After this the ox came back sorrowfully to mankind,
and for food and for shelter he offered to become their
servant; and, because he was strong and patient,
mankind allowed him to become their servant.
Ever since he was struck by the Deity the ox has
had no teeth in the upper jaw, and the hollow behind
his ribs remains to this day ; it can never be filled up,
however much grass and grain he eats, for it is the
mark of the fist of the Deity.
XXXI
THE LOST BOOK
AFTER mankind began to multiply on the earth and
had become numerous, and scattered into many regions,
they lost much of their knowledge of the laws of God,
and in their ignorance they committed many mistakes
in their mode of worship, each one worshipping in his
own way after his own fancy, without regard to what
was proper and acceptable in the sight of God.
In order to restore their knowledge and to reform
their mode of worship, the Great God commanded a
Khasi man and a foreigner to appear before Him on
a certain day, upon a certain mountain, the name of
which is not known, that they might learn His laws
and statutes.
So the Khasi and the foreigner went into the moun-
tain and appeared before God. They remained with
Him three days and three nights, and He revealed unto
them the mode of worship.
The Great God wrote His laws in books, and at the
end of the third day He gave unto each man a book
of the holy law, and said unto them: “ This is sufficient
unto you; return unto your own people; behold, I
have written all that is needful for you to know in this
book. Take it, and read it, and teach it to your kindred
137 '
138 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXxI
that they may learn how to be wise and holy and happy
for ever.”’ The two men took their books and departed
as they were commanded.
Between the mountain and their homeland there
lay a wide river. On their way thither they had waded
through it without any difficulty, for the water was low,
but on their return journey they found the river in
flood and the water so deep that they had to swim across.
They were sorely perplexed how to keep their sacred
books safe and dry ; being devoid of clothing, the men
found it difficult to protect them or to cover them
safely. The foreigner had long hair, and he took his
book and wrapped it in his long hair, which he twisted
firmly on the top of his head; but the hair of the
Khasi was short, so he could not follow the example of
the foreigner, and, not able to think of a better plan, he
took the book between his teeth.
The foreigner swam across safely, with his book
undamaged, and he went home to his kindred joyfully
and taught them wisdom and the mode of worship.
The Khasi, after swimming part of the way, began
to flounder, for the current was strong, and his breathing
was impeded by the book in his mouth. His head went
under water, and the book was reduced to a worthless
pulp. He was in great trouble when he saw that the
book was destroyed. He determined to return to the
mountain to ask the Great God for a new book, so he
swam back across the wide river and climbed again to
the mountain; but when he reached the place where
he had before met God, he found that He had ascended
into heaven, and he had to return empty-handed.
When he reached his own country, he summoned
together all his kindred and told them all that had
XXxI THE LOST BOOK 139
happened. They were very sad when they heard that
the book was lost, and bewildered because they had
no means of enlightenment. They resolved to call a
Durbar of all the Khasis to consider how they could
carry on their worship in a becoming way and with
some uniformity, so as to secure for themselves the
three great blessings of humanity—health, wealth, and
families.
Since that day the Khasis have depended for their
knowledge of sacred worship on the traditions that have
come down from one generation to the other from
their ancestors who sat in the great Durbar after the
sacred book was lost, while the foreigners learn how
to worship from books.
XXXII
THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT
Part I
ONcE there lived a very poor family, consisting of a
father, mother, an only son, and his wife. They were
poorer than any of their neighbours, and were never
free from want ; they seldom got a full meal, and some-
times they had to go without food for a whole day,
while their clothes but barely covered their bodies.
No matter how hard they worked, or where they went
to cultivate, their crops never succeeded like the crops
of their fellow-cultivators in the same locality. But
they were good people, and never grumbled or blamed
the gods, neither did they ask alms of any one, but
continued to work season after season, contented with
their poor fare and their half-empty cooking-pots.
One day an aged mendicant belonging to a foreign
tribe wandered into their village, begging for food at
every house and for a night’s shelter. But nobody
pitied him or gave him food. Last of all, he came to
the dwelling of the poor family, where, as usual, they
had not enough food to satisfy their own need, yet when
they saw the aged beggar standing outside in the cold,
their hearts were filled with pity. They invited him
140
xxxn THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 141
to enter, and they shared their scanty meal with him.
“Come,” they said, “we have but little to give you, it
is true, but it is not right to leave a fellow-man outside to
starve to death.” So he lodged with them that night.
It happened that the daughter-in-law was absent
that night, so that the stranger saw only the parents
and their son.
A KHASI INDUSTRY—FRYING FISH IN THE OPEN AIR.
Next morning, when he was preparing to depart,
the mendicant spoke many words of peace and goodwill
to the family, and blessed them solemnly, expressing
his sympathy with them in their poverty and privation.
“You have good, hearts,” he said, “and have not
hesitated to entertain a stranger, and have shared with
the poor what you yourselves stood in need of. If you
wish, I will show you a way by which you may grow
rich and prosperous.”
They were very glad to hear this, for their long
142 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXXIE
struggle with poverty was becoming harder and harder
to bear, and they responded, eagerly, saying, ‘“‘ Show us
the way.”
Upon this the mendicant opened a small sack which
he carried, and took from it a small live coney, which
he handed tenderly to the housewife, saying, ‘“‘ This
little animal was given to me years ago by a holy man,
who told me that if I killed it and cooked its meat for
my food I should grow rich. But by keeping the animal
alive for many days I became so fond of it that I could
not kill it. Now I am old and weak, the day of my
death cannot be far off ; at my death perhaps the coney
may fall into the hands of unscrupulous persons, so I
give it to you who are worthy. Do not keep it alive
as I did, otherwise you will not be able to kill it and so
will never reap the fruits of the virtue it possesses.
When wealth comes to you, beware of its many tempta-
tions and continue to live virtuously as at present.”
He also warned them not to divulge the secret to
any one outside the family, or to let any outsiders taste
of the magic meat.
When they were alone, the family began to discuss
with wonder the words spoken by the mysterious
stranger about the strange animal that had been left
in their possession. They determined to act on the
advice of their late guest, and to kill the coney on that
very day, and that the mother should stay at home
from her work in the fields to cook the meat against
the return of the men in the evening.
Left to herself, the housewife began to paint glowing
pictures of the future, when the family would cease to
be in want, and would have no need to labour for their
food, but would possess abundance of luxuries, and be
xxxr THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 143
the envy of all their neighbours. As she abandoned
herself to these idle dreams, the evil spirit of avarice
entered her heart unknown to her, and changed her
into a hard and pitiless woman, destroying all the
generous impulses which had sustained her in all their
years of poverty and made her a contented and amiable
neighbour.
Some time in the afternoon the daughter-in-law
returned home, and, noticing a very savoury smell
coming from the cooking-pot, she asked her mother-in-
law pleasantly what good luck had befallen them, that
she had such a good dinner in preparation. To her
surprise, instead of a kind and gentle answer such as
she had always received from her mother-in-law, she
was answered by a torrent of abuse. and told that she
was not to consider herself a member of the family, or
to expect a share of the dinner, which a holy man had
provided for them.
This unmerited unkindness hurt and vexed the
younger woman, but, as it is not right to contradict a
mother-in-law, she refrained from making any reply,
and sat meekly by the fire, and in silence watched the
process of cooking going on. She was very hungry,
having come from a long journey, and, knowing that
there was no other food in the house except that which
her mother-in-law was cooking, she determined to try
and obtain a little of it unobserved. When the elder
woman left the house for a moment she snatched a
handful of meat from the pan and ate it quickly, but
her mother-in-law caught her chewing, and charged her
with having eaten the meat. As she did not deny it,
her mother-in-law began to beat her unmercifully, and
turned her out of doors in anger,
144 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS Xxx
The ill-treated woman crawled along the path by
which her husband was expected to arrive, and sat on
the ground, weeping, to await his coming. When he
arrived he marvelled to see his wife crying on the
roadside, and asked her the reason for it. She was too
upset to answer him for a long time, but when at last
she was able to make herself articulate, she told him all
that his mother had done to her. He became very
wroth, and said, “‘ If my mother thinks more of gaining
wealth than of respecting my wife, I will leave my
mother’s house for ever,” and he strode away, taking
only a brass lota (water vessel) for his journey.
Part II
The husband and wife wandered about in the jungle
for many days, living on any wild herbs or roots that
they could pick up on their way, but all those days they
did not see a village or a sign of a human habitation.
One day they happened to come to a very dry and
barren hill, where they could get no water, and they
began to suffer from thirst. In this arid place a son
was born to them, and the young mother seemed likely
to die for want of water. The husband roamed in every
direction, but saw no water anywhere, until he climbed
to the top of a tall tree in order to survey the country,
and to his joy saw in the distance a pool of clear
water. He hastened down and fetched his lota, and
proceeded in the direction of the pool. The jungle
was so dense that he was afraid of losing his way, so
in order to improvise some sort of landmark, he tore
his dottie (loin-cloth) into narrow strips which he hung
on the bushes as he went.
xxxn THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 145
After a long time he reached the pool, where he
quenched his thirst and was refreshed. Then he filled
his lota to return to his languishing wife, but was tempted
to take a plunge in the cool water of the pool, for he
was hot and dusty from his toilsome walk. Putting
his lota on the ground and laying his clothes beside it,
he plunged into the water, intending to stay only a
few minutes. °
Now it happened that a great dragon, called U Yak
Jakor, lived in the pool, and he rose to the surface upon
seeing the man, dragged him down to the bottom, and
devoured him. |
The anxious wife, parched with thirst, waited ex-
pectantly for the return of her husband, but, seeing no
sign of him, she determined to go in search of him. So,
folding her babe in a cloth, which she tied on her back,
she began to trace the path along which she had seen
her husband going, and by the help of the strips of
cloth on the bushes, she came at last to the spot
where her husband’s lota and his clothes had been
left.
At sight of these she was filled with misgivings, and,
failing to see her husband anywhere, she began to call
out his name, searching for him in all directions. There
were no more strips of cloth, so she knew that he had
not gone farther.
When U Yak Jakor heard the woman calling, he
came up to the surface of the pool, and seeing she was
a@ woman, and alone, he drew near, intending to force
her into the water, for the dragon who was the most
powerful of all the dragons inside the pool lost his
strength whenever he stood on dry land, and could then
do no harm to any one.
L
146 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXXII
In her confusion and fear on account of her husband,
the woman did not take much notice of U Yak Jakor
when he came, but shouted to him to ask if he had not
seen a man passing that way; to which he replied that
a man had come, who had been taken to the palace of
the king beneath the pool. When she heard this she
knew that they had cometo the pool of U Yak Jakor, and,
looking more closely at the being that had approached
her, she saw that he was adragon. She knew also that
U Yak Jakor had no strength on dry land, and she
lifted her arm with a threatening gesture, upon which °
he dived into the pool.
By these tokens the woman understood that her
husband had been killed by the dragon. Taking up
the lota and his clothes, she hurried from the fatal spot
and beyond the precincts of the dragon’s pool, and, after
coming to a safe and distant part of the jungle, she
threw herself down on the ground in an abandonment
of grief. She cried so loud and so bitterly that her
babe awoke and cried in sympathy; to her astonish-
ment she saw that his tears turned into lumps of gold
as they fell. She knew this to be a token that the
blessing of the mendicant, of which her husband had
spoken, had rested upon her boy by virtue of the meat
she had eaten.
This knowledge cheered and comforted her greatly,
for she felt less defenceless and lonely in the dreary
forest. After refreshing herself with water from the
lota, she set out in search of some human habitation,
and after a weary search she came at last to a large
village, where the Siem (Chief) ot that region lived,
who, seeing that she possessed much gold, permitted
her to dwell there.
xxxa THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 147
Part IIT
The boy was named U Babam Doh, because of the
meat which his mother had eaten. The two lived very
happily in this village, the mother leading an industrious
life, for she did not wish to depend for their living on
the gold gained at the expense of her son’s tears. Neither
did she desire it to become known that he possessed
the magic power to convert his tears into gold, so she
instructed her boy never to weep in public, and on every
occasion when he might be driven to cry, she told him
to go into some secret place where nobody could witness
the golden tears. And so anxious was she not to give
him any avoidable cause of grief that she concealed from
him the story of her past sufferings and his father’s
tragic fate, and hid from sight the brass lota and the
clothes she had found by the dragon’s pool.
U Babam Doh grew up a fine and comely boy, in
whom his mother’s heart delighted ; he was strong of
body and quick of intellect, so that none of the village
lads could compete with him, either at work or at play.
Among his companions was the Heir-apparent of the
State, a young lad about his own age, who, by reason
of the many accomplishments of U Babam Doh, showed
him great friendliness and favour, so that the widow’s
son was frequently invited to the Siem’s house, and
was privileged to attend many of the great State
functions and Durbars. Thus he unconsciously became
familiar with State questions, and gleaned much know-
ledge and wisdom, so that he grew up enlightened
and discreet beyond many of his comrades. -
One day, during the Duali (Hindu gambling festival),
his friend the Heir-apparent teased him to join in the
148 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xxx
game. He had no desire to indulge in any games of luck,
and he was ignorant of the rules of all such games, but he
did not like to offend his friend by refusing, so he went
with him to the gambling field and joined in the play.
At first the Heir-apparent, who was initiating him
into the game, played for very small stakes, but, to their
mutual surprise, U Babam Doh the novice won at
every turn. The Heir-apparent was annoyed at the
continual success of his friend, for he himself had been
looked upon as the champion player at previous festivals,
so, thinking to daunt the spirit of U Babam Doh, he
challenged him to risk higher stakes, which, contrary
to his expectation, were accepted, and again U Babam
Doh won. They played on until at last the Heir-
apparent had staked and lost all his possessions; he
grew so reckless that in the end he staked his own
right of succession to the throne, and lost.
There was: great excitement and commotion when it
became known that the Heir-apparent had gambled
away his birthright; people left their own games,
and from all parts of the field they flocked to where
the two young men stood. When the Heir-apparent
saw that the people were unanimous in blaming him for
so recklessly throwing away what they considered his
divine endowment, he tried to retrieve his character
by abusing his opponent, taunting him with being
ignorant of his father’s name, and calling him the
unlawful son of U Yak Jakor, saying that it was by
the dragon’s aid he had won all the bets on that day.
This was a cruel and terrible charge from which
U Babam Doh recoiled, but as his mother had never
revealed to him her history, he was helpless in face of
the taunt, to which he had no answer to give. He
xxxn THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 149
stood mute and stunned before the crowd, who, when
they saw his dismay, at once concluded that the Heir-
apparent’s charges were well founded. They dragged
U Babam Doh before the Durbar, and accused him of
witchcraft before the Siem and his ministers.
U Babam Doh, being naturally courageous and
resourceful, soon recovered himself, and having absolute
confidence in the justice of his cause, he appealed to
the Durbar for time to procure proofs, saying that he
would give himself up to die at their hands if he failed
to substantiate his claim to honour and respectability,
and stating that this charge was fabricated by his
opponent, who hoped to recover by perfidy what he
had lost in fair game.
The Durbar were perplexed by these conflicting
charges, but they were impressed by the temperate
and tespectful demeanour of the young stranger, in
comparison with the flustered and rash conduct of the
descendant of their own royal house, so they granted
a number of days during which U Babam Doh must
procure proofs of his innocence or die.
U Babam Doh left the place of Durbar, burning with
shame and humiliation for the stigma that had been
cast upon him and upon his mother, and came sadly
to his house. When his mother saw his livid face
she knew that some great calamity had befallen him,
and pressed him to tell her about it, but the only reply
he would give to all her questions was, ‘‘ Give me a
mat, oh my mother, give me a mat to lie upon” ; where-
upon she spread a mat for him on the floor, on which
he threw himself down in an abandonment of grief.
He wept like one that could never be consoled, and as
he wept his tears turned into gold, till the mat on which
150 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXxx0
he lay was covered with lumps of gold, such as could
not be counted for their number.
Although the mother saw this inexhaustible wealth
at her feet she could feel no pleasure in it, owing to
her anxiety for her son, who seemed likely to die of grief.
After a time she succeeded in calming him, and gradually
she drew forth from him the tale of the attack made
upon their honour by the Heir-apparent. She began
to upbraid herself bitterly for withholding from him
their history, and hastily she went to fetch her husband’s
clothes and the brass lota which she had concealed for
sO many years, and, bringing them to her son, she told
him all that had happened to her and to his father,
from the day on which the foreign mendicant visited their
hut to the time of their coming to their present abode.
U Babam Doh listened with wonder and pity for
the mother who had so bravely borne so many sorrows,
concealing all her woes in order to spare him all un-
necessary pangs. When the mother finished her tale —
U Babam Doh stood up and shook himself, and, taking
his bow and his quiver, he said, “‘I must go and kill
U Yak Jakor, and so avenge my father’s death, and
vindicate my mother’s honour.”’
The mother’s heart was heavy when she saw him
depart, but she knew that the day had arrived for him
to fulfil his duty to his father’s memory, so she made
no attempt to detain him, but gave him minute direc-
tions about the locality, and the path leading to the
dragon’s haunts.
Part IV
After a long journey U Babam Doh arrived at the
pool, on the shores of which he found a large wooden
xxxn THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 151
chest, which he rightly guessed had belonged to some
unfortunate traveller who had fallen a victim to the
dragon. Upon opening the chest he found it full of
fine clothes and precious stones, such as are worn only
by great princes ; these he took and made into a bundle
to bring home.
Remembering his mother’s instructions not to venture
into the pool, he did not leave the dry land, although
he was hot and tired and longed to bathe in order to
refresh himself. He began to call out with a loud
voice as if hallooing to some lost companions, and
this immediately attracted to the surface U Yak Jakor,
who, after waiting a while to see if the man would not
-come to bathe in the pool, came ashore, thinking to
lure his prey into the water. But U Babam Doh
was on his guard, and did not stir from his place, and
when the dragon came within reach he attacked him
suddenly and captured him alive. He then bound him
with rattan and confined him in the wooden chest.
. Fortified by his success, and rejoicing in his victory,
U Babam Doh took the chest on his shoulders and
brought the dragon home alive. Being wishful to
enhance the sensation, when the day came for him to
make his revelations public in the Durbar, he did not
inform his mother that he had U Yak Jakor confined
in the wooden chest, and when she questioned him
about the contents of the chest he was silent, promising
to let her see it some day. In the meantime he
forbade her to open it, on pain of offending him, but he
showed her the bundle of silken clothes.
The news soon spread through the village that U
Babam Doh had come back, and when the people saw
him walking with lifted head and steadfast look, the
152 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS = xxx
rumour got abroad that he had been successful in his
quest for proofs. This rumour caused the Heir-apparent
to tremble for his own safety, and hoping to baulk U
Babam Doh once. more, he persuaded the Siem to post-
pone the date of the Durbar time after time. Thus
U Yak Jakor remained: for many days undiscovered,
confined in the chest.
Now U Babam Doh’s mother, being a woman, was
burning with curiosity to know the secret of that wooden
chest which her son had brought home and around
which there appeared so much mystery. One day,
when her son was absent, she determined to peep into
it to see what was hidden there. U Yak Jakor had
overheard all that the mother and son had said to one
another, and he knew that the woman was not aware
of his identity. As soon as he heard her approaching
the chest he quickly transformed himself into the like-
ness of her dead husband, though he was powerless to
break the rattan.
The woman was startled beyond speech when she
saw (as she thought) her husband alive and almost
unchanged, whom she had mourned as dead for so many
long years. When she could control her joy she requested
him to come out, to partake of food and betel nut, but
he replied that although he had by the help of their
son escaped from the dragon’s stronghold, he was under
certain vows which would have to be fulfilled before
he could come out, for if he left the chest before the
fulfilment of his vow he would fall again into the power
of the dragon.
The mother began to find fault with her son for having
concealed the fact of her husband’s rescue from her,
but the dragon said that if the son had disclosed the
xxxa THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 153
fact to anybody before the fulfilment of the vows it
would have committed him into U Yak Jakor’s hands.
She must beware of letting U Babam Doh know that
she had discovered the secret, or both her son and
her husband would be lost to her for ever, while by
judicious help she might bring about his release.
Upon hearing this the woman implored him to
show her in what way she could assist, and so
quicken his reledse. The wily dragon hoped in this
way to bring about the death of U Babam Doh, so he
replied that his vow involved drinking a seer of tigress’
milk, and that he who obtained the milk must not
know for whom or for what purpose it was obtained.
This was sad news for the woman, for it seemed to
her quite impossible to procure tigress’ milk on any
condition. She was even less likely to find any one
willing to risk his life to get it, without knowing for
whom and for what purpose, and she wept bitterly.
After a time she*called to mind the many exploits of
her son as a hunter, and she conceived a sudden plan
by which she hoped to obtain tigress’ milk.
By and by she heard the footsteps of her son outside,
and she hurriedly closed the lid of the chest, and lay on
the ground, and feigned sickness, writhing as if in great
agony. U Babam Doh was much concerned when he
saw his mother, and bent over her with great solicitude.
He tried many remedies, but she seemed to grow worse
and worse, and he cried out in sorrow, saying, “ Tell
me, my mother, what remedy will cure you, and I will
get it or die.”
“It is written in my nustp (book of fate) that I
shall die of this sickness, unless I drink a seer of tigress’
milk,’’ said the mother.
154 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS xxan
‘IT will obtain for you some tigress’ milk,” said the
youth, “‘ordie”’; and, taking his bow and quiver and his
father’s lota, he went into the forest, asking some neigh-
bours to come and sit with his mother during his absence.
When he had been gone some time his mother said
she felt better, and requested the neighbours to return
to their homes, as she wished to sleep; but as soon
as they were out of earshot she got up and prepared a
savoury meal for him whom she thought her husband.
Parr V
U Babam Doh, eager to see his mother healed, walked
without halting till he came to a dense and uninhabited
part of the forest which he thought might be the haunt
of wild beasts, but he could see no trail of tigers. He
was about to return home after a fruitless hunt, as he
feared to be absent too long from his mother, when he
heard loud moans from behind a ntar thicket. He
immediately directed his steps towards the sound, pre-
pared to render what assistance he could to whoever
was suffering. To his surprise he found some young
tiger cubs, one of whom had swallowed a bone, which
had stuck in his throat, and was choking him. U Babam
Doh quickly made a pair of pincers from a piece of
bamboo, and soon had the bone removed. The cubs
were very thankful for the recovery of their brother,
and showed their gratitude by purring and licking U
Babam Doh’s hand, while the cub from whose throat
the bone was extracted crouched at his feet, declaring
that he would be his attendant for ever. |
U Babam Doh took up his lota and his bow and
prepared to depart, but the cubs entreated him to stay
xxx1 THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 155
until their mother returned, so as to get her permission ~
for the young tiger to follow him. So U Babam Doh
stayed with the cubs to await the return of the tigress.
Before long the muffled sound of her tread was heard
approaching. As she drew near, she sniffed the air
suspiciously, and soon detected the presence of a man
in her lair. Putting herself in a fighting attitude,
she began to growl loudly, saying, “‘ Human flesh,
human flesh’’; but the cubs ran to meet her, and told
her how a kind man had saved their brother from
death. Whereupon she stopped her growling, and, like
her cubs, she showed her gratitude to U Babam Doh
by purring and licking his hands. |
The tigress asked him many questions, for it was a
rare occurrence for a man to wander so far into the
jungle alone. On being told that he had come in
search of tigress’ milk to save his mother’s life, she
exclaimed eagerly that she knew of a way to give him
what he wanted, by which she could in some measure
repay him for saving her cub, and she bade him bring
his lota and fill it with milk from her dugs. U Babam
Doh did as she told him, and obtained abundance of
tigress’ milk, with which he hastened home to his mother,
accompanied by the tiger cub.
Part VI
U Babam Doh found his mother, on his return, in
just the same condition as when he left her; so as soon
as he arrived he put the lota of milk into her hand,
and said, “‘ Drink, oh my mother. I have obtained
for you some tigress’ milk, drink and live.” She
made a pretence of drinking, but as soon as her son
156 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS Xxx
‘left the house she hurried to the wooden chest, and,
handing in the lota, she said, “‘ Drink, oh my husband.
Our son hath obtained the tigress’ milk, drink and be
free from the dragon’s power.”
U Yak Jakor was vexed to find that U Babam Doh
had returned unharined, and began to think how he
could send him on another perilous venture, and he
answered the woman plaintively, “To drink tigress’
milk is only a part of my vow; before I can be released
from the dragon’s power I must anoint my body
with fresh bear’s grease, and he who obtains it for
me must not know for whom or for what purpose it is
obtained.”
The woman was very troubled to hear this, for she
feared to send her son into yet another danger, but,
believing that there was no other way to secure her
husband’s release, she again feigned sickness, and when
her son asked her why the tigress’ milk had not effected
a cure, she replied :
“It is written in my nuszp that I must die of this
sickness unless I anoint my body with fresh bear’s
grease.”
“‘T will obtain the fresh bear’s grease for you, oh
my mother, or die,’’ answered the youth impetuously ;
and once more he started to the forest, taking his bow
and quiver, and his father’s lota, which he had filled
with honey.
As he was starting off, the tiger cub began to follow
him, but U Babam Doh commanded him to stop at
home to guard the house, and went alone to the
forest. After travelling far he saw the footprints of
bears, whereupon he cut some green plaintain leaves
and spread them on the ground and poured the honey
xxx THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 157
upon them, and went to hide in the thicket. Soon a
big bear came and began to eat the honey greedily,
and while it was busy feasting, U Babam Doh, from
behind the thicket, threw a thong round its throat
and captured it alive. Upon this a fierce struggle
began ; but the bear, finding that the more he struggled
the tighter the grip on his throat became, was soon
subdued, and was led a safe, though unwilling captive
by U Babam Doh out of the jungle. Thus once again
the son brought to his mother the remedy which was
supposed to be written in her nusip. |
When he came in sight of his home, leading the bear
by the thong, the tiger cub, on seeing his master, ran
to meet him, with the good news that his mother had
recovered and had been cooking savoury meals for a
guest who was staying in the house. This news cheered
U Babam Doh greatly, and, fastening the bear to a tree,
he hastened to the house to greet his mother, but to his
disappointment he found her ill and seemingly in as
much pain as ever. Without delay he took a knife
and went out to kill the bear, and, filling the lota with
grease, he brought it to his mother, saying :
“‘ Anoint yourself, oh my mother, I have obtained
for you the bear’s grease ; anoint yourself and live.”
He then went out to seek the tiger cub and punish
him for deceiving him about his mother’s condition,
but the cub declared on oath that he had spoken only
the truth, and that his mother had really been enter-
taining a guest during her son’s absence, and seemed
to have been in good health, going about her work, and
cooking savoury meals.
U Babam Doh was greatly mystified ; he was loth to
believe his mother could be capable of any duplicity,
158 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXX
and yet the tiger cub seemed to speak the truth. He
determined not to say anything to his mother about
the matter, but to keep a watch on her movements
for a few days.
When her son left the house after giving her the bear’s
grease, the woman rose quickly, and lifting the lid of
the chest, she said :
*“‘ Anoint yourself, oh my husband. Our son hath
obtained the bear’s grease; anoint yourself and be
free from the dragon’s power.”
As before, the dragon was again very chagrined to
find that U Babam Doh had come back alive and un-
injured, so he thought of yet another plan by which
he could send him into a still greater danger, and he
answered the woman: ‘‘ Anointing my body with bear’s
grease is only a part of my vow; before I can be
released from the dragon’s power I must be covered
for one whole night with the undried skin of a python,
and he who obtains the skin for me must not know for
what purpose or for whom it is obtained.”
The woman wept bitterly when she heard of this
vow, for she feared to send her son among the reptiles.
U Yak Jakor, seeing her hesitation, began to coax her,
and to persuade her to feign sickness once again, and
she, longing to see her husband released, yielded to his
coaxing. When her son came in he found her seem-
ingly worse than he had seen her before, and once more
he knelt by her side and begged of her to tell him what
he could do for her that would ease her pain.
She replied, “‘ It is written in my nustp that I must
die of this sickness unless I am covered for a whole
night with the undried skin of a python”; and as before
U Babam Doh answered and said that he would obtain
xxxn THE BLESSING OF THE MENDICANT 159
for her whatever was written in her nusip; but he did
not say that he would bring a python skin.
Taking his bow and quiver, he left the house, as on
former occasions, and walked in the direction of the
Jungle, but this time he did not proceed far. He returned
home unobserved, and, climbing to the roof of the house,
he quietly removed some of the thatch, which enabled
him to see all that was going on inside the house, while
he himself was unseen.
Very soon he saw his mother getting up, as if in her
usual health, and preparing to cook a savoury meal,
which, to his amazement, when it had been cooked,
she took to the wooden chest where he knew the dragon
to be confined. As he looked, he saw the figure of a
man lying in the chest, and he knew then that U Yak
Jakor had transformed himself into another likeness
in order to dupe his mother. He listened, and soon he
understood from their conversation that the dragon
had taken the form of his own dead father, and by that
means had succeeded in making his mother a tool against
her own son. He now blamed himself for not having
confided to his mother the secret of the chest, and
determined to undeceive her without further delay.
He entered the house quickly, before his mother
had time to close the lid of the chest. She stood before
him flustered and confused, thinking that by her in-
discretion she had irrevocably committed her husband
to the power of the dragon; but when U Babam Doh
informed her of the deception played upon her by U
Yak Jakor she was overwhelmed with terror, to think
how she had been duped into sending her brave son
into such grave perils, and abetting the dragon in his
evil designs on his life.
160 FOLK-TALES OF THE KHASIS XXXII
When U Yak Jakor saw that there was no further
advantage to be gained by keeping the man’s form
he assumed his own shape, and, thinking to prevent
them from approaching near enough to harm him, he
emitted the most foul stench from his scaly body.
But U Babam, Doh, who had borne so much, was not
to be thwarted, and without any more lingering he took
the chest on his shoulders and carried it to the place.
of Durbar. There, before the Siem and his ministers
and the whole populace, he recounted the strange story
, of his own adventures and his parents’ history. At the
end of the tale he opened the wooden chest and exhibited
the great monster, who had been such a terror to
travellers for many generations, and in the presence
of the Durbar, amid loud cheers, he slew U Yak Jakor,
and so avenged his father’s death and vindicated his
mother’s honour.
The Siem and the Durbar unanimously appointed
him the Heir-apparent, and when in the course of time
he succeeded to the throne he proved himself a wise
and much-loved ruler, who befriended the poor and
the down-trodden and gave shelter to the stranger
and the homeless. He always maintained that his own
high estate was bestowed upon him in consequence
of his family’s generosity to a lonely and unknown
mendicant, whose blessing descended upon them and
raised them from a state of want and poverty to the
highest position in the land.
Printed by R. & R. CLark, Limirep, Edinburgh.
PAR nieniilatian Anel at ans
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